FIVE retail units in Accrington which have stood derelict for almost a decade are due to be refurbished and re-opened as the home of new businesses.

The director of a Blackburn firm, Cannon Corner Limited, is keen to see the five vacant units in the town centre "revived".

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Director Simon Dickinson, who bought units one to three on Church Street and four to six on Cannon Street two years ago, has almost completed the much needed repairs following a fire in 2011.

Mr Dickinson, 40, said: “From our point of view, this has been a labour of love.

“We had to clean them up and sort out the damage that had been caused by vandalism and fires, so for us, we are coming to the end of a project which has been a lot of hard work.

“To see people going in there will show us that our efforts have added something to the area and it will be great to see that people want to take ownership.

“Seeing it where it is now is the reward we get for trying to ‘revive’ the town in the first place.

“We want these units to be enjoyed, not to gather dust.”

After purchasing the properties, the company spent four months clearing out the debris and rubbish that had been left.

The building was home to Barnes Furniture for more than 30 years but has been vacant since 2005.

It was ravaged by a fire which broke out in the top half of the building in 2011, which saw part of Accrington town centre evacuated.

Mr Dickinson said: “The five vacant units all are under development but we have got interested parties, which is promising.

“Hopefully we will open up number one and take away the boards very soon. That premises has not been used for nearly 10 years.

“Another unit that is currently boarded up at the moment will hopefully be cleaned up and the shop front finished by the end of this week.

“Due to the size of the units, they will probably be used by a start-up business, or someone looking for high street presence, or someone looking for a brand new commercial unit.

“We would like genuine honest businesses to move in, whether it be a hairdresser or accountant.

“Hopefully in the next three or four months we can get the council on board with the larger site.”

Cllr Tony Dobson, who represents Barnfield on Hyndburn Council, said: “I very much welcome the progress and look forward to seeing tenants move in.

“We need to work with people who are interested in making Accrington a better place to live, work and shop.

“After all this is done, I call on the residents of Hyndburn to start using these facilities.

“Unless we as residents of Pennine Lancashire support our local businesses, they will not survive.”