Fitness plans at old Accrington church

2:30pm Wednesday 25th July 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Emma Cruces, Reporter

LANDMARK Cannon Street church LANDMARK Cannon Street church

A MAJOR fitness firm is looking to transform an historic town centre church into a gym.

Premier Fitness has put in plans to transform the crumbling Cannon Street Baptist Church, Accringon into a major town centre fitness hub.

The landmark church, which is a listed building, has long been a problem for both Hyndburn Council and the owners Y&Y developments.

The owners have been ordered to tidy up the building, through court orders, because of the broken windows, missing metalwork and crumbling stonework of the church.

Hyndburn Council was insistent the building was an eyesore, both its frontage on Cannon Street, and at the rear of the building opposite Tesco and Accr-ington Train Station.

However, Y&Y Developments said the empty building was constantly being targeted by vandals while they looked for an interested party in transforming it into a practical use for the area.

The Grade II listed building, which dates back to 1874, has been empty since 2006.

Premier Fitness are said to have submitted the planning bid while having talks with Y&Y Developments on buying the property.

Hyndburn Council said that it was fully behind working with the applicant to bring the building back into use.

Deputy leader Clare Pritchard said: “This is a very important building, right in the heart of Accrington. But instead of being an asset, it has long been a problem. We fully support the plans to transform this building and hope it is successfully brought back into use.

Financial director of Y&Y Developments, Michael Fuerst said: “It’s been a long process finding a suitable use for this building, and the negotiations with Premier Fitness are going well. The longer the building stands empty, the more renovations are needed so we are happy to see plans to bring it into use.”

Comments (11)

2:54pm Wed 25 Jul 12

Excluded again says...

I expect there to be pages of comments from people objecting to the conversion of this Grade II listed building inot something not traditionally English. As there were on a similar story yesterday.

Unless someone thinks this will be Ye Olde English Fitness Centre.
I expect there to be pages of comments from people objecting to the conversion of this Grade II listed building inot something not traditionally English. As there were on a similar story yesterday. Unless someone thinks this will be Ye Olde English Fitness Centre. Excluded again

3:18pm Wed 25 Jul 12

harwoodwatch says...

When will we learn? Churches are being subject to a change of use whilst mosques are flourishing! This is not a racist comment, but a statement of fact. Our older church-goers are dying off and the catholoic and C of E indigenous church-goers are being completely overwhelmed!
When will we learn? Churches are being subject to a change of use whilst mosques are flourishing! This is not a racist comment, but a statement of fact. Our older church-goers are dying off and the catholoic and C of E indigenous church-goers are being completely overwhelmed! harwoodwatch

3:41pm Wed 25 Jul 12

useyourhead says...

increased education and access to knowledge have meant that people no longer believe the church and all its fairytales, I hope the trend continues until all the people worldwide are awake enough to start caring for and worshipping those in front of them and those to the left and right, instead of some mythical being from a story so old and corrupted through the years.
increased education and access to knowledge have meant that people no longer believe the church and all its fairytales, I hope the trend continues until all the people worldwide are awake enough to start caring for and worshipping those in front of them and those to the left and right, instead of some mythical being from a story so old and corrupted through the years. useyourhead

3:46pm Wed 25 Jul 12

Venomp says...

Good we need the council to come out of its victorian hole so that it allows planning for upto date plans/buildings
Good we need the council to come out of its victorian hole so that it allows planning for upto date plans/buildings Venomp

3:48pm Wed 25 Jul 12

Venomp says...

Good we need the council to come out of its victorian hole so that it allows planning for upto date plans/buildings
Good we need the council to come out of its victorian hole so that it allows planning for upto date plans/buildings Venomp

4:05pm Wed 25 Jul 12

harwoodwatch says...

useyourhead wrote:
increased education and access to knowledge have meant that people no longer believe the church and all its fairytales, I hope the trend continues until all the people worldwide are awake enough to start caring for and worshipping those in front of them and those to the left and right, instead of some mythical being from a story so old and corrupted through the years.
Do you not read? ALL relgions promote ther own crede. You say the church and all it's fairytales, what about the fairytales in other religions that promote death and destruction? I agree with you, let's all care for each other and leave our religon personal. ALL religions have been mis-interpretted over the many years, not just the christian one! Many muslim interpretations point to anniialation of the 'infidel' Looking after those left and right means looking after your own and ignoring the rest, which is a contradiction in terms of your viewpoint. The wider view and a look around your local town should open your eyes, if it doesn't YOU are blind to the world!
[quote][p][bold]useyourhead[/bold] wrote: increased education and access to knowledge have meant that people no longer believe the church and all its fairytales, I hope the trend continues until all the people worldwide are awake enough to start caring for and worshipping those in front of them and those to the left and right, instead of some mythical being from a story so old and corrupted through the years.[/p][/quote]Do you not read? ALL relgions promote ther own crede. You say the church and all it's fairytales, what about the fairytales in other religions that promote death and destruction? I agree with you, let's all care for each other and leave our religon personal. ALL religions have been mis-interpretted over the many years, not just the christian one! Many muslim interpretations point to anniialation of the 'infidel' Looking after those left and right means looking after your own and ignoring the rest, which is a contradiction in terms of your viewpoint. The wider view and a look around your local town should open your eyes, if it doesn't YOU are blind to the world! harwoodwatch

4:12pm Wed 25 Jul 12

harwoodwatch says...

Sorry.....annhilatio
n
Sorry.....annhilatio n harwoodwatch

6:01pm Wed 25 Jul 12

useyourhead says...

harwoodwatch wrote:
useyourhead wrote:
increased education and access to knowledge have meant that people no longer believe the church and all its fairytales, I hope the trend continues until all the people worldwide are awake enough to start caring for and worshipping those in front of them and those to the left and right, instead of some mythical being from a story so old and corrupted through the years.
Do you not read? ALL relgions promote ther own crede. You say the church and all it's fairytales, what about the fairytales in other religions that promote death and destruction? I agree with you, let's all care for each other and leave our religon personal. ALL religions have been mis-interpretted over the many years, not just the christian one! Many muslim interpretations point to anniialation of the 'infidel' Looking after those left and right means looking after your own and ignoring the rest, which is a contradiction in terms of your viewpoint. The wider view and a look around your local town should open your eyes, if it doesn't YOU are blind to the world!
By church I meant religion as a whole, in whatever faith it may be, as they are all fairytales.
-
At any given time you may look who is in front of you or to your left or right and be beside someone from any corner of the world, I didn't mean just look after your own but look after, respect and be considerate of whoevers company you find yourself in. The real, tangable beings, that in my mind matter far more than the aged ramblings that are mis-quoted, mis-interpreted and only serve to segregate.
[quote][p][bold]harwoodwatch[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]useyourhead[/bold] wrote: increased education and access to knowledge have meant that people no longer believe the church and all its fairytales, I hope the trend continues until all the people worldwide are awake enough to start caring for and worshipping those in front of them and those to the left and right, instead of some mythical being from a story so old and corrupted through the years.[/p][/quote]Do you not read? ALL relgions promote ther own crede. You say the church and all it's fairytales, what about the fairytales in other religions that promote death and destruction? I agree with you, let's all care for each other and leave our religon personal. ALL religions have been mis-interpretted over the many years, not just the christian one! Many muslim interpretations point to anniialation of the 'infidel' Looking after those left and right means looking after your own and ignoring the rest, which is a contradiction in terms of your viewpoint. The wider view and a look around your local town should open your eyes, if it doesn't YOU are blind to the world![/p][/quote]By church I meant religion as a whole, in whatever faith it may be, as they are all fairytales. - At any given time you may look who is in front of you or to your left or right and be beside someone from any corner of the world, I didn't mean just look after your own but look after, respect and be considerate of whoevers company you find yourself in. The real, tangable beings, that in my mind matter far more than the aged ramblings that are mis-quoted, mis-interpreted and only serve to segregate. useyourhead

3:00am Thu 26 Jul 12

captain ian says...

Dear mr useyourhead, please understand my freind that Jesus is not a fairytale i urge you search for the good Lord with all of your heart. may God give us all understanding..
Dear mr useyourhead, please understand my freind that Jesus is not a fairytale i urge you search for the good Lord with all of your heart. may God give us all understanding.. captain ian

10:13am Thu 26 Jul 12

useyourhead says...

captain ian wrote:
Dear mr useyourhead, please understand my freind that Jesus is not a fairytale i urge you search for the good Lord with all of your heart. may God give us all understanding..
I am glad you have something in your life that comforts you but try as I may I can never imagine believing such stories.
-
Depending on the religion some are less benign than others but all are, in my humble opinion, stories cooked up eons ago to placate and keep in order (read control) the masses and stop them freaking out about death.
-
It may have been fine for times when the different beliefs didn't cross paths so much due to lack of travel and information from other lands but in these times they mostly only seem to cause divides, suspicion and in extremes, hate. forgive me for not wanting to be part of that.
[quote][p][bold]captain ian[/bold] wrote: Dear mr useyourhead, please understand my freind that Jesus is not a fairytale i urge you search for the good Lord with all of your heart. may God give us all understanding..[/p][/quote]I am glad you have something in your life that comforts you but try as I may I can never imagine believing such stories. - Depending on the religion some are less benign than others but all are, in my humble opinion, stories cooked up eons ago to placate and keep in order (read control) the masses and stop them freaking out about death. - It may have been fine for times when the different beliefs didn't cross paths so much due to lack of travel and information from other lands but in these times they mostly only seem to cause divides, suspicion and in extremes, hate. forgive me for not wanting to be part of that. useyourhead

11:07am Sat 4 Aug 12

ky_uk1982 says...

useyourhead wrote:
captain ian wrote:
Dear mr useyourhead, please understand my freind that Jesus is not a fairytale i urge you search for the good Lord with all of your heart. may God give us all understanding..
I am glad you have something in your life that comforts you but try as I may I can never imagine believing such stories.
-
Depending on the religion some are less benign than others but all are, in my humble opinion, stories cooked up eons ago to placate and keep in order (read control) the masses and stop them freaking out about death.
-
It may have been fine for times when the different beliefs didn't cross paths so much due to lack of travel and information from other lands but in these times they mostly only seem to cause divides, suspicion and in extremes, hate. forgive me for not wanting to be part of that.
I totally agree with useyourhead religion is just a dirty thing of the past it brings greed, war, rape, famine, death and despair, i have read into religion from a lot of cultures and the all have the same twists some worse than others however i wont name them, i honestly dont meen to cause offence but the magician dynamo is far more tallented than any idiot from them old silly books, the only difference is we are not stupid enough to belive such rubbish anymore because of education and worldwide knowledge, could you imagine church of dynamo!!! or church of derren brown !!!!! lol

religion phah JOKE !!!!
[quote][p][bold]useyourhead[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]captain ian[/bold] wrote: Dear mr useyourhead, please understand my freind that Jesus is not a fairytale i urge you search for the good Lord with all of your heart. may God give us all understanding..[/p][/quote]I am glad you have something in your life that comforts you but try as I may I can never imagine believing such stories. - Depending on the religion some are less benign than others but all are, in my humble opinion, stories cooked up eons ago to placate and keep in order (read control) the masses and stop them freaking out about death. - It may have been fine for times when the different beliefs didn't cross paths so much due to lack of travel and information from other lands but in these times they mostly only seem to cause divides, suspicion and in extremes, hate. forgive me for not wanting to be part of that.[/p][/quote]I totally agree with useyourhead religion is just a dirty thing of the past it brings greed, war, rape, famine, death and despair, i have read into religion from a lot of cultures and the all have the same twists some worse than others however i wont name them, i honestly dont meen to cause offence but the magician dynamo is far more tallented than any idiot from them old silly books, the only difference is we are not stupid enough to belive such rubbish anymore because of education and worldwide knowledge, could you imagine church of dynamo!!! or church of derren brown !!!!! lol religion phah JOKE !!!! ky_uk1982

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