Update on Blackburn council building that poses 'major safety risk'

Annette Belcher & Bill Jacobs
·4-min read

A council has given an update on much-needed repairs to a building it owns. Emergency works are required to stop the 'inevitable collapse of the Imperial Mill's roof in Blackburn

And the building's decaying windows are said to pose a ‘major health and safety risk.' The condition of the heritage-listed 1901 building in Gorse Street is revealed in documents submitted with a planning application for urgent repairs to its roof and windows.

Blackburn with Darwen Council bought the imposing and historic mill in February 2023 with the aim for restoring it to its former glory as a a job-creating hub for creative industries and cultural activities. Following the publication of the condition survey and design, access and heritage statement for the emergency roof and window works Conservative regeneration spokesman Cllr Marrow said: “This is extremely alarming.

READ MORE:

“Imperial Mill is at risk of becoming a ‘White Elephant’ with a spiralling cost to the authority and its council taxpayers.” Blackburn with Darwen Council’s growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood said: “This is nothing that we did not know.

“We always knew that a lot of work would be required to restore the mill. That is why we secured £1million of Levelling Up cash for the project and are seeking heritage, lottery and other government grants.”

The reports are submitted with the planning application to the council for ‘a programme consisting of roof works and window protection including boarding up windows, incorporating the replacement of rainwater goods’. They say: “The condition survey makes clear why the repair of the roofs is necessary, as if water ingress is allowed to worsen, which would inevitably lead to the roof’s collapse, consequently causing almost irreparable damage to the heritage asset as a whole.

“To enable works to commence immediately, the first phase of the repair will make the roofs watertight. This will be followed by a permanent solution which will cover all of the roof areas of the mill under a separate application.

“The roof areas surveyed in this report were found in extremely poor condition and have greatly exceeded the expected lifespan. Water ingress was evident internally as the current occupants are collecting and pumping the surface water to an external drain.

“Widespread defects are evident, and the roof is beyond economic repair; Recommend all roof areas are replaced in full to ensure the building is watertight and preventing further internal damage as a result of water ingress.

“The timber windows, present a major health and safety risk to persons below, due to the failed glazing. This leaves the building unsecure and the potential for arson.

“Recommend replacing the timber windows with new or removing the glazing and overboard the frames with timber to prevent complete failure and also provide a watertight building fabric. The works proposed for the roofs constitute less than significant harm to the heritage asset as a whole, and the repair and replacement of the roofs will help to preserve the heritage asset, making it of great public interest.

“Said public interest undoubtedly outweighs the less than significant harm to the asset. Such work is necessary to shore up the mill, preventing access and improving structural integrity.

“The roof works, window protection, and replacement of rainwater goods form part of an ongoing programme of regeneration, which will restore the Imperial Mill, complementing the heritage asset’s original function, whilst ultimately providing a new purpose for the building to ensure its position and relevance within the Blackburn skyline.”

The latest application follows Blackburn with Darwen Council’s planning committee in April approving the demolition of structurally unsafe elements at the imposing 123-year-old canalside building including the Boiler House, Engine Room Extension, Masonry Annex and Steel Structure. Cllr Mahmood told meeting: “This is the start of the renovation of Imperial Mill.

“It is an iconic and historic mill – a magnificent building. It will be a long journey but we can make it the jewel in our crown.”

The approval was granted despite Cllr Marrow expressing concern about the structural soundness of the rest of the building in case the project became ‘a noose around the council’s neck’. Borough planning manager Gavin Prescott said the proposal was the first in a series of applications to regenerate the building with another for the loading bay expected soon.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • DWP full list of PIP changes proposed including cutting or scrapping monthly payments

    The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) overhaul consultation closed at midnight last night - we round up some of the major reforms put forward in the DWP consultation

  • Lee Anderson: I’d give medal to police officer filmed stamping on man’s head

    Lee Anderson has said an armed officer who was filmed appearing to kick and stamp on a man’s head at Manchester Airport should be given a medal.

  • Stranded Boeing astronauts are stuck on International Space Station, Nasa says in urgent update

    The astronauts stranded on the International Space Station are still not able to come home, Nasa has said. Two astronauts went to the space station almost 50 days ago as part of a test of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to visit the orbiting lab for about a week and return in mid-June, but thruster failures and helium leaks on Boeing‘s new Starliner capsule prompted Nasa and Boeing to keep them up longer.

  • Labour to unveil £19bn black hole as Reeves plots tax raid

    Rachel Reeves is preparing to unveil a £19bn black hole in the public finances as she builds up to an autumn tax raid.

  • EU formally opens deficit proceedings against eight member states

    France, Italy, Belgium and five others were targeted by fellow member states after the European Commission warned of ballooning budget shortfalls.

  • Did The Tories Really Leave Labour A 'Shocking' Inheritance?

    We all knew the UK is not exactly fighting fit – but just how much of a mess are we really in?

  • Keir Starmer says OVO, E.on, British Gas and Octopus customers will get £300 bill cut

    Labour leader announced a massive program of offshore wind farms and other clean power initiatives

  • The UK Just Dropped Its Challenge To ICC Arrest Warrant For Netanyahu. What Does That Mean?

    Labour has pivoted away from the Tory approach towards Israel.

  • Around 1,000 police deployed amid Tommy Robinson protest and counter-march

    Officers will try and keep opposing groups apart.

  • Claire Coutinho Laughed At In The Commons For Trying To Lecture Labour Over Honesty

    The shadow cabinet minister said they were not being "evil Tories" by pointing out a flaw with government policies.

  • Free speech on campus ‘in peril’, Labour warned over plan to scrap cancel culture laws

    Free speech on campus is “in peril”, Labour was warned on Friday after it announced it would shelve a law to tackle cancel culture at universities.

  • Who is leading the race to become Kamala Harris's running mate? New Yahoo News poll shows support for top contenders.

    A Yahoo News guide to the top Democratic vice-presidential contenders

  • Barack and Michelle Obama call Kamala Harris to endorse her bid to become US President

    The Obamas announced their endorsement with a video, in which they telephoned Harris to share their support

  • Barack Obama Endorses Kamala Harris For President

    Harris has enjoyed near-unanimous support from the party, defying pundits who predicted Democratic infighting should Biden bow out.

  • 4 key takeaways from Biden’s speech on his decision to ‘pass the torch to a new generation’

    In a speech delivered from the Oval Office on Wednesday night, President Biden cast his decision to exit the 2024 presidential race as a choice to protect the country from the consequences should his party lose the White House in November.

  • Biden delivers prime-time farewell in all but name - and a reminder of why Democrats turned to Harris to take on Trump

    This was a president with six months left in office, and yet, it was a farewell address in all but name. It felt odd, entirely in keeping with the denouement of Joe Biden's demise - a president dragged kicking and screaming to the exit. The set-piece address was given the Oval Office treatment, normally reserved for times of national crisis.

  • Watch: Armed policeman ‘stamps on man’s head’ at Manchester Airport

    An armed police officer has been filmed apparently launching a kick and a stamp at a man’s head during an incident at Manchester Airport.

  • Harris’ team rejects Israeli notion that her comments could harm ceasefire talks

    Vice President Kamala Harris’ office on Friday is rejecting a suggestion from a senior Israeli official that the vice president’s remarks on Thursday that forcefully criticized Israel’s conduct in its war against Hamas could have made a ceasefire deal harder to reach.

  • California governor orders removal of homeless encampment

    STORY: California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday said the state would begin removing homeless encampments. That’s after a Supreme Court decision in late June that upheld anti-camping laws used to ticket and fine people living on the streets. California had 180,000 homeless people in 2023, more than any other state, and the majority slept outdoors, according to U.S. housing officials.Newsom announced the order to remove encampments in a video posted on X. "It's time to move with urgency at the local level to clean up these sites, to focus on public health and focus on public safety. There are no longer any excuses." The Supreme Court decision reversed a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that found punishing people for sleeping outdoors when no shelter beds are available was unconstitutional.Some agencies and local governments had refrained from removing the encampments because of the Ninth Circuit ruling while others faced lawsuits after they cleared camps. Newsom told state agencies to prioritize removing camps that pose health and safety risks, provide at least 48 hours notice to the people affected, request social services for them and store their belongings for at least 60 days. California's transportation department has removed over 11,000 camps since July 2021 using similar policies. Critics of Newsom’s move cite a Rand study showing that such cleanups in Los Angeles did not reduce the homeless population long term. They say that more affordable and supportive housing is needed to effectively address the issue.

  • Biden's call for Supreme Court reform 'surprises' political analyst

    STORY: ::July 24, 2024::A political analyst says he was surprisedby Biden's call for Supreme Court reforms::Darry Allen Sragow, Democratic political consultant"I think maybe the only thing that took me by surprise was his throwing in this reference to Supreme Court reform. Because in a sense, that came out of nowhere, he didn't have to put that in the speech, but the fact that he mentioned that suggested to me that in his mind, for the future of the country, this has become a high priority and what he is presumably referring to is the recent decisions coming out of a Supreme Court that is dominated by very conservative justices. // It suggests to me that he was signaling to Vice President Harris and to the party more broadly that this is a fight that the time has come to take on."::Los Angeles, CaliforniaIn an Oval Office address, Biden said he had dropped out of the race against Republican Donald Trump because of his concerns about the future of the country, his first public remarks since his abrupt departure from the 2024 campaign.Sragow said the Supreme Court reforms "came out of nowhere", which suggests to him that the controvesial decisions coming out of the country's top court that's dominated by very conservative justices has become high priority to Biden and that he may be signalling to vice president Kamala Harris that "this is a fight that the time has come to take on."Biden has endorsed Harris, who is Black and Asian American, as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.Sragow said Biden's speech on Wednesday also underlined the high stakes of this election, which he believes is important to try to motivate marginal voters, who are often young voters of color, to cast their ballots in the Nov. 5 election.