COUPLES could soon be tying the knot on an island in the middle of an East Lancashire reservoir.

Developers want to build a wedding and functions venue on the land at Wards Reservoir, Belmont.

The plans at the beauty spot off Rivington Road, better known as the Blue Lagoon, include parking for 28 vehicles and a bridge to the island.

Cheshire-based Walsingham Planning revealed the plans after putting a request to Blackburn with Darwen Council for its opinion on whether an ‘environmental impact assessment’ is required ahead of a planning application.

The site is owned by Blue Lagoon Heritage, which has maintained it for the past couple of years and is looking to recoup some of its expenses.

Within the document put to the council, Jonathan Vose, principal consultant at Walsingham Planning, said: “The development is relatively small in scale. A highly screened building is proposed, with limited views from Rivington Road. The proposed bridge will not have an imposing design and the car park will not be highly visible or imposing.”

He continued: “Any impacts of the development are considered to be minor in nature and localised. In visual terms, only a small area of the site will see any alteration. This will be in the form of a low scale and highly screened building which will blend into the site’s green, but previously industrialised, character.”

Landlady of the nearby Black Bull pub Tracey Marsden welcomed the proposal. She said: “It sounds lovely and I think all ventures like that should be welcomed.

“It can bring business to areas like ours as I think people would come over for a wedding and see the village and then come back in the future.”

But local councillor Jean Rigby said she didn’t feel the proposal was feasible. She said: “It is a dream. We will see what the council comes up with but I can’t see it happening.

“It will take away an area that has been used by residents of Belmont and beyond for walking for years and privatise it. I will be very surprised if it is granted permission.”