Safety upgrade plans at Wetherspoons pub in Darwen

The Old Chapel in Railway Road first opened as a place of worship in 1866, after being designed by architect Edward Bates, who also designed the town’s landmark India Mill.

But in 2014, after the building spent 50 years as a shop, it was snapped up and restored by the UK’s largest pub chain, JD Wetherspoon.

Now, the popular two-floor boozer is looking to make some upgrades to the building that should help to keep its punters safe and repair some of the wear and tear on the Grade II-listed property.

The Old Chapel is all set for some health and safety improvements (Image: Will Morgan)

 In the application to carry out work on the former church, cracks in some of the exterior render near the entrance of the property were highlighted as in need of repair, before the masonry starts ‘falling away’.

Similar faults were noticed on the stone stairs leading to the pub’s cellar. This well-trodden route by staff will now have its flagstones and steps repaired ‘to make the steps secure and allow a safe footing’.

The rest of the application concerns fairly visible changes to the outside appearance of the 160-year-old building, with Wetherspoons asking for permission to place ‘contrasting paint’ around the property to prevent any drinkers from tripping over.

Permission was granted to apply a contrasting yellow paint to the building's steps (Image: Will Morgan)

This yellow paint will be used on the edge of steps at the front of The Old Chapel and those around the historic building’s fire exits and the beer garden.

In approving the application, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s planning officer stated that these markings ‘are perfectly justified in a health and safety sense and would cause no discernible levels of harm to the character of the listed building.’

With a heritage advisor pointing out that some paints could cause the old building’s steps to erode over time, the council added a condition that any paint used on The Old Chapel must be permeable.