PLANS to sell off a council-owned former restaurant building have been delayed because of the upcoming British Textile Biennial

The former Gioia restaurant in Church Street will host a series of new works by artist Jamie Holman, celebrating a history of radical gatherings where the working class youth of the north resisted, rejected, and finally reclaimed the spaces that cotton made and then abandoned.

The exhibition will take place from October 3 to November 3.

The council had been due to sell the building, which has council-owned offices above the former restaurant, at auction earlier this month but decided to postpone the sale.

Blackburn with Darwen Council finance boss, Cllr Andy Kay, told members the sale would go ahead once the exhibition was done.

Gioia opened in Church Street in Blackburn in November 2017 in the former Rovers store.

The shop underwent a £100,000 investment and the Italian venture created 23 new jobs.

As well as a restaurant, Gioia had a quick-service deli counter, a wine bar and a play area.

It was one of many new restaurants to open in the town centre since the completion of the Cathedral Quarter development.

It followed hot on the heels of A Mano and Turtle Bay in Cathedral Square.

Hugo’s, East Z East and Frankie’s also all opened in the last two years.

But the business closed in May last year after struggling to attract enough custom.

The building at 50-54 Church Street, previously occupied by Gioia at the ground floor with the first and second floors used as offices, had been listed for sale through Pugh Auctions at a guide price of £400,000.

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Cllr Kay said at a meeting of the council's policy and corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee that the sale of the building had not been cancelled, just delayed to allow the exhibition to go head.

The British Textile Biennial programme states: "Transform and escape the dogs is a series of new works by artist Jamie Holman.

"From Malkin tower to Mill Hill; a defiant history of witches, hand loom poets, blacksmith painters, football casuals, and pioneer film makers, challenging accepted notions of textiles heritage, and of those people and events that have shaped us.

"These works propose a counter narrative of creativity, rebellion, and magic; exploring the real Industrial Revolution, a revolution of the soul that seeks to remind us: ‘when we gather, we become powerful. We cannot be kept down.’"

As part of the British Textile Biennial, trainer giants adidas are launching a new shoe after Blackburn.

The sportswear firm will launch the Blackburn SPZL at a major exhibition in the Cotton Exchange which will feature over 1,000 pairs of adidas footwear from past and present.

The Blackburn trainer has been designed by Darwen-born Gary Aspden who has worked for adidas for over 20 years and its green and red colour scheme has been inspired by the Red Rose of Lancashire

A limited edition Nightsafe version of the Blackburn trainer will be available to collectors at the exhibition. Only 200 pairs will be released featuring the charity's logo and are sure to attract interest from all over the world. All proceeds from the limited edition trainer will go to Nightsafe which helps homeless and vulnerable young people in Blackburn and Darwen.