PLANS have been unveiled for a new motorway-side motel, but the quest for a new town centre hotel in Blackburn goes on.

Whitbread has applied for planning permission to open a 43-bedroom hotel on land off the Eccleshill link road in Darwen, within a mile of the new Travelodge hotel on the M65 services

The hotel will be built next to a Brewsters pub, which is a family restaurant with play facilities.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has put the planning application on the agenda for next week's planning and highways committee, and has recommended approval.

A report to the committee states that the presence of a second mid-price hotel chain should not affect the council's attempts to get a high-class hotel to move into Blackburn town centre.

Director of regeneration Adam Scott said: "The applicant has submitted detailed information in the form of a hotel needs assessment to establish level of demand at this location.

He added that it showed there was a demand for that type of hotel and it would not conflcit with the council's interest in securing an hotel in the town centre.

Several objections have been received, most from people living on a nearby estate. They insist they would not have moved on to the estate had they known a three-storey hotel was going to be built.

And Healds Night and Day, which runs a distribution centre on the neighbouring site, expressed concern that a car park next to their boundary would make it easier for people to break in.

Whitbread operates 310 of the Travelinn hotels across the country.

The new Travelinn is already listed in their hotel directory for spring 2003.

The hunt for a new town centre hotel began two years ago when the County Hotel, in Preston New Road, closed and was replaced by a housing estate.

A spokesman for Blackburn Chamber of Trade said: "There are a number of small hotels but we need a quality, large hotel which can take big group bookings and has conference facilities."