AN asbestos-ridden bleachworks is to be pulled down and replaced by a new bus depot.

It will be used by Catch-me-bus.com, a firm which declared war with Blackburn Transport last October when it began operating on five of its established routes.

The bleachworks, off Whitebirk Road, was cordoned off by council officials last summer after youngsters were spotting playing inside it.

Blackburn with Darwen Council then served notice on its owners to demolish the rundown building, which is close to Intack Primary School.

At the time, loose panels from the building had left some lumps of asbestos exposed, prompting fears that particles could escape into the air.

Under the new plans, approved by Blackburn with Darwen's planning and highways committee, the bleachworks, and a large area of land around it, will be replaced with a maintenance workshop, mechanics' officer, drivers' rest room, toilets and bus parking facilities.

There will be room on the site for 40 single-deckers buses, and a three-metre high fence will be thrown up around the site to protect the vehicles from vandals. The only concerns raised at the meeting were by traffic officers that the parking layout would make it difficult for buses to enter and leave the site.

But the owners of the firm stated to the committee that the buses would be parked in a pre-determined order so that there would be no problems.

Until last October, Blackburn Transport, which operates 108 buses, had no competition, with most routes being run either by them or in partnership with other companies.

But catch-me-bus.com, which had previously operated on a route from Blackburn to Guide, started offering cheaper fares.

Both firms are watching each other carefully, with Blackburn Transport saying it is confident that people will stay with them because they have newer buses. Until work begins on the site, council officers have asked members of the public not to enter the site.