Blackburn with Darwen homeless pods staying

Emergency accommodation for some of Blackburn with Darwen’s most vulnerable homeless people will be retained for the coming two winters.

Councillors have been recommended to extend the planning permission for 10 sleeping and two dining ‘pods’ until the end of October 2028 in the grounds of the former Shadsworth Leisure Centre.

Under the authority’s ‘severe weather exposure provision’, the sleeping pods have been provided at the Shadsworth site for a number of years.

On Thursday night the council’s planning committee will be asked to approve an extension to the permission for the pods until October 31 2028.

This will allow its housing needs team to make longer term plans for the use the pods to accommodate vulnerable people and rough sleepers throughout the winters of 2025/26 and 2026/27.

The pods are covered by CCTV and lighting and two dining areas are provided alongside the sleeping arrangements, according to the plans.

The committee is recommended to amend the condition setting out the timeframe for the emergency accommodation.

In October borough housing boss Cllr Damian Talbot hailed the pods as ‘a huge success story’.

A report to the committee by planning manager Gavin Prescott says: “The condition limited the timeframe of the permission to 01/04/2026 and this application seeks to extend that temporary period until 31/10/2028.

The application site forms part of a vacant leisure centre complex, which is located within Blackburn. “The leisure centre has been demolished.

“The pods have been in  situ for a number of years now and they provide custom accommodation for homeless people, which is managed by the council.

“This application seeks to vary the wording of Condition 1 in order to further extend the timeframe of the temporary permission that was approved at Planning and Highways Committee in March 2025.

“The permission is now proposed to expire 31/10/2025.

“The original planning application involved the siting of temporary residential accommodation in the form of 10 sleeper pods and two diner pods.

“The sleeper pods are arranged in a linear formation with the diner pods positioned to the east edge of the site.

“On-site security, waste storage facilities, lighting and CCTV are also provided.

“The documents provided previously demonstrate that adequate diligence would be applied by the managers of the development and that adequate safety protocols will be properly followed.

“Extending the timeframe of the permission would ultimately have a negligible impact upon the safety and capacity of the local highways network.”