WORK on two multi-million pound schemes to regenerate a historic town centre quarter and improve traffic flow in and out of it are well under way.

Changes to the road network around Blackburn's King George’s Hall and Northgate are complete and construction teams have now moved on to the creation of a new link road connecting The Mall directly up Richmond Hill to Barbara Castle Way and the Whalley Range Bazaar district.

The £2.9million project will reverse the traffic flows on Tontine Street and Victoria Street.

The two-year scheme’s later stages include measures to reduce speeding on the A6078 Barbara Castle Way.

The £3.8million part-National Lottery-financed Blakey Moor Townscape Heritage Project has also moved forward with the open space work in front of and around King George’s Hall almost complete and work now under way on the new Jubilee Square in front of Blackburn College’s Victoria Building.

It aims to create a new restaurant, bar and leisure quarter with a statue of former Blackburn MP Barbara Castle as the centrepiece of the square.

Tony Duckworth, president of Blackburn and District Chamber of Trade, said: “I am pleased that progress is being made. The works around Sudell Cross have taken far too long but hopefully the two schemes will improve the area overall.”

The road scheme, part-funded by £2m from the government, will create a new signalised A6078 Barbara Castle Way/Richmond Hill junction with Richmond Hill and Richmond Terrace connected by a new link road running from the back of The Mall car park.

The project involves new junctions on Barbara Castle Way with Randall Street and Victoria Street and the reopening of the full length of Northgate, currently closed between Duke Street and Sudell Cross, to through traffic in both directions. Tontine Street will run into the town centre and Victoria Street out making it easier for cars to get to both Whalley Range and Northgate/Sudell Cross.

Cllr Phil Riley, Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss, said: “Work on the new link road from The Mall car park to Richmond Hill and Barbara Castle Way is progressing well. The work has no moved from the Sudell Cross/Northgate area up to the junction on the A6078.

“On the townscape heritage project, the public realm work around KGH virtually complete. The focus has moved to the square in front the college’s Victoria Building.”