Published Thursday 3 February 2022 at 12:27
An architect is set to be appointed to lead on the refurbishment of St John’s Church – an early phase of the £250m transformation of Blackburn Town Centre.
Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Executive Board has been asked to approve award-winning OMI Architects to lead on the refurbishment scheme.
The £3.54 million project will see the Grade II listed building transformed in to a high quality, flexible work space – capable of meeting new agile working demands on the back of the pandemic.
It’ll be the first project as part of the ambitious £250m masterplan for the town centre, including the former Thwaites site and the potential relocation of Morrisons.
Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Growth and Development, said:
This is a landmark moment for our ambitious plans to transform Blackburn town centre.
Appointing an architect for the refurbishment of St John’s Church paves the way for us to develop our proposals for the first phase of the scheme.
As the oldest church in the town, it was devastating to see the damage caused after the fire in 2019.
Using the money we have received from the insurance, we can now start work on refurbishing the historic building and re-purposing it as quality, flexible workspace.
The Council has undergone a rigorous procurement process to identify an architect for the scheme.
Manchester-based OMI Architects has won 12 national and regional RIBA awards and is well known for a broad range of work including museums, galleries and churches.
OMI’s work includes complex heritage schemes similar to St John’s involving some of the region’s most important Grade I and Grade II listed buildings, including All Souls in Bolton which was named RICS North West Building of the Year in 2015.
Councillor Riley added:
The masterplan shows that the Council is forward-thinking with its place making agenda and I’m really pleased that we’re already embarking on the first phase.
It’s incredibly important that our towns are fit for the future – supporting our local economy, and creating higher quality jobs and living spaces to help build strong communities.
We have faced significant challenges as a result of the pandemic but are doing everything we can to put our borough in a strong position for the future.
The masterplan will be part of the borough’s new Local Plan which provides a blueprint for future development.
The vision for the town centre includes:
- providing purpose-built business and technology workspace for low carbon, green and renewable industries as part of a new town centre business district;
- the repurposing and refurbishment of St John’s Church to create high quality flexible workspace to meet new agile working trends post pandemic;
- potential to relocate Morrisons to a new store located on the former Thwaites brewery site with the opportunity to retain and upgrade the existing car park for public use;
- providing low carbon town centre living in close proximity to services, retail, workspace and major public transport connections;
- implementing 5G town centre roll-out creating a ‘super-connected town centre’;
- refurbishing and re-opening the Fleece Inn to reflect the history of the locality; and
- improving public open spaces and increasing cycle and pedestrian routes with new connectivity to our local canal infrastructure.
The council’s Executive Board is set to meet on Thursday, February 10th, to consider the recommendations for the St John’s scheme, including the appointment of the architect.