Published Thursday 30 June 2016 at 20:41
A special ‘call-in’ committee meeting to scrutinise plans to demolish Darwen’s Three-day market has agreed to go-ahead with the plans.
Darwen’s six-day Market Hall and Annexe will remain open as normal.
The decision to knock-down part of the market complex due to its current poor condition was approved by the borough’s Executive Board in June.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s ‘call-in’ scrutiny Committee was asked to review the decision.
The Committee held tonight (Thursday, June 30), which was made-up of nine councillors, voted to accept the decision to demolish the Three-Day Market.
A report to the Council’s Executive Board said the Three-Day Market was failing to attract shoppers in the numbers required to sustain a viable level of trading.
It said the Three-Day Market was becoming costly to repair and maintain with surveys identifying £200,000 of urgent repair and maintenance works.
The Executive Board report said there were 18 traders – occupying 28 stalls out of a possible 66 stalls with another five stalls used for build out.
Following the decision from the Call-in meeting, the next steps include work to create additional stalls in the Six-Day Market and Annexe and starting the stall application process to assist traders to re-locate into the main Market hall and Annexe.