Final stage of £15m project put on hold because prospective homebuyers cannot borrow

The final stage of a key £15m mixed-use regeneration scheme in Blackburn city centre has been shelved because of the credit crunch.

According to local media reports, two-thirds of the 79 flats in millionaire pub-boss Margo Grimshaw's Cathedral Village housing and retail scheme will be put on hold due to a lack of sales.

The foundations for the final stage of the scheme have already been dug.

Project manager Clive Brookes said: “It has been postponed because of the current economic climate. It is terrible at the moment. We have got people banging on our doors to buy, but then they go out and can't get a mortgage.”