Clearing work starting at fire-hit church

Works are taking place at St John’s Church in Victoria Street to start to repair fire damage.

The Church was hit by a huge fire in April 2019 which destroyed the roof and much of the interior.

Work taking place at the church will be continuing until the 3^rd week in February.

It will involve the clearing of the timber trusses and any roof remains that are inside the building along with debris from the aftermath of the fire, when the building was initially made safe.

The Council-owned building is not being demolished but a crane is required for the work to remove the roof trusses.

Traffic plans are in place in order to minimise any disruption around Victoria Street and James Street as much as possible.

An alternative route for traffic affected by the closure is via James Street, Ainsworth Street, Richmond Terrace and Victoria Street.

You can find out more here: https://one.network/

As part of these works an archaeologist will be present on site to make sure that any fixtures or fittings with any heritage significance are removed in a safe manner for restoration.

When the fire took place the Church was home to The Bureau Centre for the Arts which has found a new home at the former Thwaites Visitor Centre on Penny Street, Blackburn.

Built as The Church of St. John the Evangelist in 1787, the church is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in the town.