Thursday 8 May 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day – the historic date in 1945 when World War II ended in Europe commemorative events and celebrations are being held to honour this significant milestone Blackburn with Darwen is proud to support a series of special tributes and community activities throughout the week the borough will be represented on the international stage at the invitation of the town’s civic leaders Cllr Taylor will take part in VE Day commemorations and lay a commemorative plaque at the Pont du Blackburn – a bridge named to symbolise the borough’s support in the aftermath of the First World War The plaque marks 100 years of friendship between Blackburn and Péronne This trip has been kindly funded by Peronne Kicking off the week of events here is VE80 Fest – a free family-friendly celebration hosted in partnership with the Royal British Legion at Witton Park on Bank Holiday Monday It promises to be a vibrant day for all ages celebrating the spirit of community and remembrance Two formal remembrance services will take place at Blackburn and Darwen Town Halls and local schools will be in attendance at both services One of the most touching tributes this year comes in the form of a hand-crocheted post box topper the topper will be unveiled on Wednesday 7 May on King William Street The unveiling will be attended by Cllr John Slater You can see more of Aaminah’s creations by following her on Instagram: @aaminknots. VE Day 80 flags will be proudly displayed outside Blackburn Town Hall throughout the commemorative period a spectacular 50-metre observation wheel will be installed in Cathedral Square offering panoramic views of the town and surrounding area all serving Armed Forces personnel and veterans can ride the wheel free of charge – simply present your ID at the ticket booth More details: https://theshuttle.org.uk/take-a-spin-on-blackburns-50-metre-giant-observation-wheel A special Evensong on Thursday 8 May will bring the community together for a moving service of reflection The week concludes with a formal VE Day Parade from Penny Street Car Park to Blackburn Cathedral The Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council VE Day is a chance for us to celebrate victory in Europe and show our appreciation for those who served in the Armed Forces It marks a pivotal moment in our shared history we’re proud to commemorate this day with local events that bring our community together from remembrance services to the VE80 Fest and gatherings with our veterans The man pictured is Imran Ayyaz and he is a rapist On 30th July 2023 the victim awoke to find Ayyaz raping her The victim repeatedly told Ayyaz to stop before screaming at him The attack happened at a property in Darwen Ayyaz was arrested the following day and provided a pre-prepared statement denying any wrongdoing He then refused to answer any questions that were put to him by the interviewing officers Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Services He continued to deny the offence but was found guilty by a jury at Preston Crown Court last Friday (11th April 2025) now of no fixed address but formerly of Lynwood Road returned to the same court yesterday where he was jailed for seven years He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life Copyright © Lancashire Constabulary 2025 An appeal has been lodged challenging the Council’s decision to refuse retrospective planning permission for a change of use of land at Hall Moss Farm – close to Whitehall Park in Darwen  The landowner was seeking a change of use from agriculture to a Gypsy caravan site including six plots – each with a static and two mobile caravans the application also sought permission for a utility block porous stone hard standing and associated fencing The planning application was assessed through the Council’s planning process – underpinned by national planning policy – and it was refused on five grounds: The applicant has now appealed against the decision to the Government’s Planning Inspectorate A period of consultation will be undertaken until June 3rd 2025, full details can be found using this link The Council issued a stop notice and Enforcement Notice in July 2024 to stop all engineering works including the provision of utility services (water the importing and depositing of waste material for hard services and to prevent the unlawful residential use of the land there requiring the removal of all caravans and associated works The Enforcement Notice set out that the land must be returned to the condition it was before we must give an appropriate amount of time to allow this to happen the Planning Inspector upheld our enforcement notice the nine months we had originally allowed from July 2024 has been extended to eleven months from February this year when the Planning Inspector upheld the enforcement notice We will continue to monitor and review the enforcement proceedings on the advice of our legal advisors Sign our campaign for a grant funding review Cassidy + Ashton was instructed by the council to compile a planning statement for the application The Victorian market hall will be refurbished as part of a wider £100m investment into the Lancashire town The redevelopment of Darwen’s market is being delivered thanks to £25m of funding from the government’s Town Deal A planning application for the project has now been submitted John Puttick Associates has drawn up the designs on behalf of applicant Blackburn with Darwen Council The market’s internal layout would be adjusted to accommodate more market stalls and F&B outlets as well as allow improvements to be made to ground floor toilets and kitchen spaces Plans indicate a new arcade hall would replace the existing 1960s market annexe to improve links between Market Square and School Street The arcade hall would sport a barrel-vault roof which according to a design and access statement will improve lighting in the venue while offering a “contemporary expression” further work on both the hall and arcade’s internal design will be undertaken following specialist advice A car park with lift access would replace an existing facility that is no longer fit for purpose A terrace facing Market Square is also proposed as a dedicated children’s play area The landscaping of School Street would be in the form of planting under which an arched space with a glazed frontage hosting a commercial unit The submission of a planning application for the market project is the latest milestone for BwD’s vision of transforming Darwen there is around £100m available for various schemes Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council and Chair of the Darwen Town Deal Board said: “This new planning application is an important next step in our plans for the town centre with millions of pounds of funding secured for the Market Hall the beautiful Carnegie Library and the theatre too “Work is also set to start on doubling the size of Darwen Youth Centre – another incredibly important project for the town especially for our youngsters and for their futures “And a further planning application proposing the refurbishment and improvements to Darwen Library and Darwen Library Theatre will follow very soon.” use the planning reference number 10/25/0250 on Blackburn with Darwen Council’s planning portal Read our comments policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This is going to be a great project which will make a big difference to the town centre The prominent Blackburn investor has further bolstered its holdings in the town with the acquisition of the 33,000 sq ft Ainsworth Street asset The housebuilder has secured approval for a 50-home sustainable scheme in Edenfield after the eight-acre plot was acquired from Peel Land Register for free North West property intelligence Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Join more than 13,000 property professionals and sign up to receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox By subscribing, you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value" Blackburn with Darwen Council is set to undertake refurbishment work at the historic Darwen Town Hall This investment ensures that Darwen Town Hall can continue to serve our community effectively while making the best use of Council-owned assets Published Thursday 27 March 2025 at 17:42 The main path through Darwen’s Sunnyhurst Woods is set to benefit from hundreds of thousands of pounds of new investment as part of the £100m Darwen Town Deal Residents said that improving the town’s popular parks the woods and paths up to the iconic Jubilee Tower should all be priorities for the Government funding there’ll be major upgrades to six key routes with additional council investment pledged too All part of a scheme called ‘Destination Darwen’ the first to benefit will be Sunnyhurst Woods with the main path from the entrance at Falcon Avenue right up to Earnsdale Reservoir set to be improved This will include resurfacing the 2km stretch to make it an accessible route as well as work to strengthen the river banks Officers from Blackburn with Darwen Council have been working closely with the dedicated volunteers from the Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods on the scheme with work now set to start imminently Chair of the Darwen Town Deal Board and Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council This is a fantastic project that the Town Deal Board and the Council is proud to be delivering with the support of the Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods The woods is a hugely popular spot with our residents and many visitors and this new investment will help bring significant improvements to the main path that leads right up to Earnsdale Reservoir – a beautiful stretch We have plans to improve six key routes across our parks and open spaces including the paths up to the Jubilee Tower We’ll also be working with the different friends’ groups at our parks to develop wider action plans for improvements improvements that our residents have told us are important and should be a priority we’re pleased to be pledging more than £3m of funding as part of the Destination Darwen scheme – a fantastic amount of new investment for these much-loved spaces The work starting at Sunnyhurst Woods – which first opened as a public park in 1903 – will coincide with the demolition of Darwen Youth Centre And a new planning application has just been submitted for Darwen Market Hall with plans also being developed for major investment for Darwen Library and Library Theatre too this is more than £25m of new investment for the town centre parks and up on to the rolling West Pennine Moors have already been improved including new pedestrian crossings to help make it easier to get around and to encourage people to explore All the car parks in the town centre have also been upgraded as part of the Town Deal Speaking about the work at Sunnyhurst Woods The investment that is coming into Sunnyhurst Wood is absolutely fantastic The work that will be carried out will improve the wood for both the local and wider communities and ensure the fantastic green space that the wood represents is for the future Improvements to the main path will allow better access to Earnsdale Reservoir where at the moment it is extremely difficult to navigate especially for disabled and pram users Access to other parts of the wood will also be improved such as to the Band Stand and Ellis Gibson Pond A number of trees will be felled during the planned works which will be a benefit to the woods ensure that tree roots don’t damage the paths in the future and thin the tree canopy that has become too thick over the years The Friends of Sunnyhurst Wood are looking forward to these exciting times To allow for the upgrades in Sunnyhurst Woods to be undertaken safely temporary closures will be needed at different points during the coming weeks and months These will be well signed with diversions in place The Olde England Kiosk – the historic Grade II listed wedding venue based there – will be open as usual throughout the works The Darwen Town Deal alongside additional funding committed by the Council and private investors will help unlock around £100m of new investment for Darwen the Government has also just confirmed a further £20m for Darwen over the next decade from the new Plan for Neighbourhoods You can also read our feature about Darwen – the town that has it all – in the latest edition of the Council’s Shuttle Extra magazine out now You can view a digital version by clicking here. A player registration infringement has seen Darwen Brass disqualified from first place at the Fourth Section North West Regional Championships The North West Regional Committee has announced that due to a player registration infringement they have undertaken the process of disqualification of Darwen Brass from the Fourth Section Area contest held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on the weekend 4BR has been informed that the status and eligibility of the player was checked and confirmed with the Brass Band Players Registry and the band was informed of the potential course of action prior to them taking to the stage Darwen Band was placed first by the adjudicators at the contest but have now been disqualified from the results In a statement posted on the regional championship website it stated: "The committee are satisfied that this was a genuine error by the band but they were informed before taking to the stage that if the player in question was found to be ineligible they would be disqualified Regional secretary Richard Milton will be contacting bands awarded trophies to arrange the transfer of these to their new bands in due course." According to the current 2025 Kapitol Promotions National Rule Book a band has 14 days from the date of the contest to lodge an appeal with the Contest Controller It must provide a £200 fee which is returned only if the appeal is upheld If the band is not satisfied with the decision of the Contest Controller they may appeal in the first instance to the Contest Management within 14 days of the contest If the band is not satisfied with the decision of the Contest Management it may appeal to the National Appeals Panel withing 1 month of that decision being made The Appeals Panel is appointed by Kapitol and that decision is final Further details and updates concerning this matter will be published as soon as possible Darwen Brass has been contacted for comment The official results have been amended accordingly on 4BR Disqualified: Darwen Brass (Matt Balsom)Due to player ineligibility TAGS: Darwen Brass 4barsrest continues to be a proudly independent voice There are no paywalls to overcome to be able to enjoy what we do to keep our journalism at the heart of the brass banding world Support us with a one-off donation or subscribe from just £2.50 per month May 6 • The incredible live sounds of Mike Lovatt's 'Brass Pack' can now be enjoyed following the release of their new album May 6 • The music making will go on long into the night in Stavanger on Friday with a special Midnight Brass treat from Manger Musikklag May 6 • Whitworth Vale & Healey capture the essence of victory as there are also wins for Delph Dobcross Silver and St John's Mossley in Buxton May 6 • Join presenter Martin Upfold for more great brass band music over the airwaves with this VE Day celebration special Saturday 10 May • Winter Gardens Complex May 5 • Ocean Brass are inviting applications for our Principal Cornet position as we prepare for an exciting schedule of concerts and contests in the second section through 2025 and beyond May 4 • Following a successful start to our 2025 contest season Rode Hall Band are looking for a good FRONT ROW CORNET player to join this enthusiastic friendly and progressive 3rd section band based on the Cheshire/Staffordshire border Rode Hall Band are looking for a good SOPRANO CORNET player to join this enthusiastic Published Tuesday 5 November 2024 at 10:28 Services commemorating Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday will be held across the borough to remember those in our armed forces who have fallen in past and current wars Remembrance Day is always marked as the 11th of November on the calendar as WW1 ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in accordance with the Armistice with Remembrance Sunday being the previous day You are invited to join the Royal British Legion and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council at Remembrance Services commemorating the lives of those who perished in two world wars and in other conflicts Remembrance Day is a chance for us to pay our respects to those who have served in the armed forces It’s also a time to reflect and remember those who have put their lives at risk and continue to do so and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice As always the Remembrance Events being held in the Borough will give our communities the chance to come together and mark the occasion Wreaths and poppies may be purchased from the Royal British Legion At the going down of the sun and in the morning Published Wednesday 23 April 2025 at 9:42 Ofsted have judged Children’s Services in Blackburn with Darwen as ‘Good’ in a glowing report published today (April 23) following a three week inspection in March They described the new leadership as ‘strong honest and respectful’ and praised its ‘injection of energy and pace’ that has brought about significant improvements in the service The report states: “The leadership style is a critical feature which engages staff and partner agencies This is successfully driving better practice Inspectors also described how social workers ‘take time to develop meaningful rapport and trust’ and are capturing a “beautiful catalogue of events’ to help children understand early memories safely and support them into the future Strong partnerships are highlighted for praise after inspectors witnessed a ‘palpable pride and collaborative culture’ It states: “Strong agency partnerships are enabling children care leavers and their families to be well supported and make progress and there is a relentless focus on children and care leavers’ lived experiences.” The report went on to highlight that children in care receive good quality care through ‘stable homes that meet their needs’ and the response to children when there are risks linked to exploitation is robust The innovative network of Family Hubs and Children’s Centres are praised for their early help And while there has been a significant increase in contact and referrals systems ensure that they are responded to swiftly and with experience “We have a can-do spirit and so much pride here It is hugely gratifying that this latest inspection recognises the real determination day out to make sure our children and families get the best possible support and help “And to read that our care leavers ‘feel the love’ from their personal advisors means everything and makes me incredibly proud.” just one category – the experiences and progress of care leavers – was graded as ‘requires improvement to be good’ the inspectors recognised the significant improvement provided to care leavers in the borough since the last inspection “What drives us in Children’s Services is continually wanting to do better for our children and young people and to keep them safe “We went into the inspection proud of the work we do and aware of areas where there is still work to be done “There was a lot of emotion when we heard directly about the impact we are having and the confidence in our ability to do more We are taking all the recommendations on board and will implement at pace.” The ‘significant investment and innovation’ that has strengthened the borough’s Children’s Services was recognised and praised where young families can thrive and where there are good services “What’s made the difference is having such a dedicated and compassionate workforce in Children’s Services and the collaboration from the wider Council and partner agencies who want what is best for children and young people in the borough Read the full report on the Ofsted Website: Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council – Open – Find an Inspection Report – Ofsted