Blackburn billionaire Zuber Issa’s EG on the Move is seeking permission to develop a shopping complex on grassland off the town’s Haslingden Road.
The company has identified a 1.3-acre site near the M65 for the project. The proposed 11,000-square-foot retail building would sit close to Royal Blackburn Hospital, with hospital staff identified as key potential customers.
EG on The Move has submitted a planning application to Blackburn with Darwen Council for a commercial development incorporating a 4,500-square-foot food retail convenience store and five smaller retail units, along with new access from Haslingden Road, customer parking, and a delivery area.
According to a supporting statement, the site sits on Haslingden Road (A6077), approximately half a mile from Junction 5 of the M65 motorway. To the north is Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital; to the east is the Shadsworth Industrial Estate.
“The intention is to create a small, primarily food, retail convenience store as an anchor to the site bringing footfall from the residential areas and hospital to support the other smaller retail units,” the statement reads. “The small retail units would be ideal for smaller start-up businesses from the local area.”
The development would also create a three-metre-wide footpath and cycleway along the western edge connecting Whinney Heights to Haslingden Road. Fifty car parking spaces are proposed.
The plans include consideration for the Whinney Heights residential area and neighbouring Queens Lodge nursing home, with landscaping treatments and acoustic boundaries intended to mitigate impact on nearby residents.
Last week, EG On The Move acquired independent petrol forecourt operator MPK Garages, expanding its national footprint.