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Four new plans revealed for delayed Blackburn link road

11:10am Friday 10th July 2009 in


FOUR options have been put forward for Blackburn’s new link road – turning the clock back to 2006.

Almost three years to the day since council bosses announced their preferred route for the £10million road, they have been forced to redo their consultation process because of a row over a listed building.

English Heritage has objected to plans to demolish the former police building at 53, King Street, which stands in the road’s path.

As a result of the saga, the dual carriageway – which will link up with the £12million Wainwright Bridge and complete the planned ‘orbital route’ around town – is facing more delays and ever-increasing costs.

Tory council leader Michael Lee said: “I wouldn’t say we are back to square one, but it is frustrating.

"I know it’s the job of English Heritage to look out for these buildings, but I am disappointed it’s taken so long.”

Council planners were taken aback by the strength of English Heritage’s opposition to the demolition of the building, while Blackburn MP Jack Straw branded the group’s stance “barmy”.

The council hopes by ruling out alternative routes it will strengthen its case if the row ends up in a public inquiry, which would add thousands of pounds more to the bill.

Other options to be put forward during the six-week consultation would see the road pass to the side of the building, but these would mean the road would not be able to link up with Montague Street in a straight line.

Another of the possible routes would take out the car park by St Wilfrid’s school and mean part of a Twin Valley housing complex would have to be knocked down.

All of the options would still require graves at St Peter’s churchyard, in St Peter’s Street, to be removed.

Council bosses said the Church of England Diocese was handling the project.

Coun Lee insisted the council’s original preferred route, which would also go through the former Byrom Supplies builder’s merchant, was still the best option and said it was “vital” to the regeneration of the town that it was built.

Barring more hold-ups, a planning application is expected in October, but no completion date has been set as it depends on whether an inquiry takes place.

Comments(20)

martin.cat says...
11:57am Fri 10 Jul 09

Farcical Surely this should have all been sorted 10 years ago at the design and feasibility stage for the bridge which i see has gone from £8M to £12M.

There is only one option and its the direct option. Anything other than this would be a waste of money

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Mike Costa says...
1:08pm Fri 10 Jul 09

Mike Costa says:

Surely the best option is the one which drives a great big wedge through the centre of the town, taking with it as much of the appalling architecture as possible. Call it slum clearing if you like

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Monsters mum says...
1:40pm Fri 10 Jul 09

English Heritage should have their eyes tested. Who in their right mind would want to protect such an eyesore! pull it down NOW! and take the direct least costly route. Maybe this hideous looking building could meet with an unfortunate "accident".

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A Darener says...
2:09pm Fri 10 Jul 09

We would still be living in caves if English Heritage had been around then.
Tell them where to go, they are just a load of clowns. What on earth would anybody want with that monstrosity.

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Hopping mad says...
4:23pm Fri 10 Jul 09

What I want to know is What English heritage are going to do with the building that they are saving. Are they going to put some money down and refurbish it or is it going to sit there for another few decades until it falls down. They should only save something thats worth saving. This is just another lot from the PC brigade that actually believe they are morally correct whilst the rest of us normal thinking people suffer.

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ExForces says...
4:48pm Fri 10 Jul 09

If the English Heritage use the building to its full potential then fine - keep it. But like the majority of people in this town would like to see the building pulled down and the land actually used for something productive.

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Brian Todd says...
5:11pm Fri 10 Jul 09

The property has been listed fro years. The Council knew this.Any delay is patently the fault of the council thinking they could ignore the law in respect of listed buildings.

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Brian Todd says...
5:12pm Fri 10 Jul 09

Any delay is entirel;y the fault of the Council thinking tghey could ignore the law in respect of listed buildings.

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Nad says...
5:18pm Fri 10 Jul 09

Stick to your guns English Heritage. Too much of Blackburns character has disappeared over the years in the 'name of progress'

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Izenears says...
8:05pm Fri 10 Jul 09

I thought the part of the building that burned down was English Heritage. Invite those people to come and view it for themselves.
It`s an eyesore!

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disgusted tunbridge wells says...
8:46pm Fri 10 Jul 09

Anybody watch the TV series about EH ? What a shower of ****, they have now ruined Sheffield and wasted billions of pounds of our money, burn the building down and get on with it, by the way it was Church Magistrates Court

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Tosh67 says...
9:47pm Fri 10 Jul 09

scale of economics here, as a tax payer in b/burn i want to know my hard earned cash is being used productively(titheba
rn exempted with BwDBC protest)the lunatics in puzzle palace(town hall) generally do a reasonable job, but why are we spending money maintaining this shed and wasting money dealing with the tos spots in EH.what possible use could a chunk of crap like that building possible serve?it must be fragile and be rotten beyond the possible destructive impact of fire!!Lets have a poll, those for and against the building,come on LT lets have a poll.

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Joe Smith says...
7:58am Sat 11 Jul 09

I remember a few years ago a well known local solicitor, bought a fresh house and there were some tree on the land he did not like, but there was a preservation order on them, he just cut them down went to court was fined 180 pound and the trees were gone, lets see some bottle like that from the council,

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disgusted tunbridge wells says...
11:01am Sat 11 Jul 09

Nice one Joe, what are EH going to do? Arrest us? Just out of interest why wasn't the building moved as a job creation scheme?

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captainfantastic says...
11:35am Sat 11 Jul 09

Joe Smith wrote:
I remember a few years ago a well known local solicitor, bought a fresh house and there were some tree on the land he did not like, but there was a preservation order on them, he just cut them down went to court was fined 180 pound and the trees were gone, lets see some bottle like that from the council,
Great idea, knock it down, pay the fine and build the road. Stuff EH, The old aquarium shop with the painting of "discus" has more asthetic value than this eyesore.

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sideways says...
6:40pm Sat 11 Jul 09

english heritage have left that building in its present state since i was a nipper, why are they making so much noise about it now,..could it be because there's nowt left to shout about in Blackburn anymore.
wheres the ragged school gone, its gone with the rest of blackburn, to the landfill

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steve18gls says...
4:28pm Sun 12 Jul 09

Nobody is interested in spending the money to bring it up to standard and it is costing a fortune in time,legal costs and having to reroute the new road. I think they should demolish it as it has been an eyesore for many decades.

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Impartial says...
6:59pm Sun 12 Jul 09

Just dismantle the **** thing and rebuild it on some spare land, preferably where no-one will see just how bad it actually is.

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sideways says...
3:31pm Thu 16 Jul 09

soon new road and new bridge shall meet,
after ploughing thru the graveyard with Montague Street.

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Joseph O'M says...
11:48am Fri 17 Jul 09

It amazes me that people consider one of the few 18th century buildings Blackburn has left(and a fine example of the architecture of its time) an "eyesore" and "hideous". Blackburn should retain its few precious buildings of architecturally valuable heritage - God knows we've lost enough. Additionally, there is nothing politically correct about suggesting that this building has great cultural value - it is a beautiful building that has lamentably been left to rot - this situation i itself should never have been allowed to happen in the first place, and the Council should have addressed this issue years ago, as it is a gateway entrance feature to the town. Additionally, the Council knew full well the status of this building, and its grading, and that there is a protocol that must be followed - which they perhaps thought could be avoided if no one made too mucvh noise. I do however agree that if it is to remain, that it has to remain for a reason, and that it can't be left to fall into further ruin - English Heritage must put forward proposal's for its future use, or try and convince people of its potential worth. After rennovation, its should be made into a publicly accessible asset - maybe as a heritage centre for Blackburn's architectural past? If this building was in any other town (outside of the Northwest) it would be heralded as an example of an architecturally unmatched period in British history. What worries me the most are the thinly veiled suggestions to incite criminality on this page...The organisation Save Britain's Heritage has numerous accounts of historic buildings that have been a thorn in council's sides coming to mysteriously fiery ends...for further evidence of why this building should be kept, have a look at the website www.blackburnnowandt
hen.co.uk to see what other gems we've lost over the decades...when buildings like the newly constructed tower are erected in the town centre without people raising an eyebrow, it makes me sad that people aren't screaming out for the survival of a building such as the one that stands in the way of a road...Blackburn was once great, and if we fight for it, and don't become apathetic, it can be again - don't sell yourselves out people!

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