HOUSING developments on brownfield land could encourage other developers to follow suit, a council chief hopes.

Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley said planned developments at Alaska Street and Griffin could show the way for the future of affordable housing in the borough.

He hopes if the schemes prove to be a success, other developers will look to buy and build on brownfield land.

Cllr Riley said: “Large numbers of councils are crying out for powers to take control of this and being able to build council houses again.

“Alaska Street will be a good test for this part of the market.

“Brownfield sites take a great deal of working up compared to greenfield sites. There’s a very active market for the first time since the financial collapse in 2008.

“Hopefully Alaska Street and Griffin will encourage developers to look at other brownfield sites.”

Earlier this year it was revealed Alaska Street in Blackburn was set to get its first estate of modular factory-built homes.

The 73 two, three and four-bedroomed houses in the Infirmary area will be built by social housing provider Places for People for affordable rent.

Since 2008 the council has been working to buy properties in the Griffin area.

A total of 165 properties had been identified for purchase and clearance through a Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment and the majority have now been purchased and demolished.

Three houses on Hardman Street remain to be bought and the council will continue negotiations to buy these properties by agreement.

If it is unsuccessful a compulsory purchase order could be considered.

A report before the executive board earlier this year revealed the council planned to appoint developers in the hopes of building between 120-150 family homes on the Griffin sites.

Cllr Riley’s Conservative counterpart, Cllr Derek Hardman, said: “We have got plenty of land untouched by developers.

“Why releasing more will help us catch up to our house-building target, I don’t understand.

“Builders will build if people want to buy and I don’t see how realising more and more land will make a difference."

“We have got some prime land that builders are not interested in because they know they can’t sell - it’s worrying.

The council’s development manager, Gavin Prescott, said: “ There are a lot of sites that are not moving. That’s why we are reviewing our local plan to bring forward sites we know we can deliver.

Planning and highways committee chairman, Cllr Dave Smith, added: “We have got to try and find land where developers will develop.

“We all know where that is and it is not always the areas we would want to build new houses.”