Historic Blackburn town centre terrace to get dramatic new look

The redesign for the transformation of Blakey Moor Terrace, opposite Blackburn’s King George’s Hall, has been triggered by unexpected structural damage caused by the powerful storms earlier this year.

Dating back to the 1800s, the building had lain largely empty for years and fallen into serious disrepair before the affected half was bought in 2018 by Blackburn with Darwen Council with the aim of fully restoring its entirety to create two new restaurant spaces.

The terrace's regeneration is a key part of the £3.8m Blakey Moor Townscape Heritage Project to create a new leisure and cultural quarter.

When the builders started work they discovered Storms Gladys, Dudley, Eunice and Franklin had left the newly purchased unit - at the end near the Mall and the new Sssh Bar in the former Baroque Bar - structurally unsound and beyond economic repair.

It has now been demolished.

The original plans for the area, which have now been altered

Now the council has revealed new plans for the terrace - including an impressive, curved frontage where the former Subway unit was located - and released exclusive CGI images of how the redesigned restoration will look.

There’ll also be new shop fronts, an improved area to the front with increased outdoor seating and new rear access linking to the Reel Cinema.

The additional work - expected to run into six figures - will delay the completion date of the refurbishment but it is still expected to be finished next year.

The cost of the new scheme - which will feature a single licensed restaurant rather than the originally proposed two - is less than rebuilding the end of the terrace to the original design.

It is understood that a national restaurant chain has expressed interest in the renovated building.

The area would be redeveloped with new businesses brought to the town (Image: BwDC)

Cllr Quesir Mahmood, Blackburn with Darwen Council's regeneration boss, said: “Right from the start, we knew that this would be an incredibly difficult project as the building has been poorly re-modelled and modified several times since first built.

“It was in a dilapidated state but, given its potential and heritage value, we’ve worked incredibly hard to develop it as part of Blackburn’s brand new cultural quarter and are excited about its future.

“While it’s disappointing we’ve had to alter course, it’s provided us with an opportunity to build back something even better – a building fit for 21st Century use but with a design that very much still celebrates its heritage.

“The new artist impressions of what it could look like are really impressive and fitting for the Northgate Conservation Area.

"As our towns recover from the pandemic, we know that a strong cultural offer will be more important than ever before and so this project is really important."

Another artist's impression of the area (Image: BwDC)

His Tory shadow Cllr Paul Marrow said: "I think the design is very impressive and in keeping with what the council want to do.

"But we do have concerns that the extra cost could be up to £420,000 and there are questions about the initial structural survey and whether the original purchase was value of money and and whether the building was fit for purpose."

All of the historic features and materials that can be salvaged have been and will be used in the re-building.

The extra cost will be split between the council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund which grant funds the overall Blakey Moor Townscape Heritage Project focussed on Blackburn's Northgate Conservation Area.