Blackburn fire-ravaged church rebuild to begin in summer

A long-delayed £8.85million project to rebuild a historic Blackburn town centre church destroyed by fire in 2019 will start this summer with the aim of completion in 2028.

The scheme will repurpose the ruins of the place of worship as a digital business and creative and innovation hub.

St John’s Church, a Grade II heritage-listed  building located in a prominent position on the corner of Ainsworth Street and Richmond Terrace, has stood empty since a fire gutted the property in April 2019 with flames visible across the town.

On Thursday Blackburn with Darwen Council’s ruling executive board will give the go-ahead for the rebuild and appoint Nelson-based Barnfield Construction Ltd as the main contractor for the project.

The progress has been welcomed by Livesey with Pleasington ward Conservative Cllr Derek Hardman – a former choirboy at the church.

He said: “Having raised my concerns on a number of occasions regarding the lack of action on restoring St John’s its great to see the work to restore this historic church is finally happening.

“I remember as a choir boy at St Johns the older buildings being demolished in the town centre while St Johns with it’s graveyard stood proud as a symbol of Blackburn’s past history.”

The former St John’s Church was built in 1787, and continued in active worship until 1975, at which time the building was transferred to the council from the Church Commissioners for England and was used to support local civic functions and in later years was used as a community centre for organised events.

The report to Thursday’s meeting of senior councillors says: “The St John’s building has stood empty since a fire engulfed the property in April 2019 causing significant damage.

“Following the fire, the council agreed an insurance settlement with Zurich and established a project plan to progress a scheme to redevelop the building and bring back into use.

“The council appointed OMI Architects, an award-winning design practice with experience in modernising historic buildings, to progress designs for the redevelopment with planning approval eventually obtained in November 2023.

“The redevelopment proposals create high-specification flexible workspaces through repair, restoration and refurbishment works.

“The development of a new St John’s Business Centre will focus on digital businesses forming a new creative hub to promote emerging opportunities, including the new Blackburn Skills Campus and the wider Business Innovation District, the largest development opportunity of its kind in the Lancashire region, and a key strategic initiative in our Local Plan and the Growth Plan for the Lancashire Combined County Authority.

“The contractor will commence mobilisation in March 2026 with works planned to commence summer 2026 with an 18 month build and fit-out programme.

“The redevelopment will be complete early 2028 and operational by summer 2028.

“The council agreed a financial settlement with Zurich of £3,750,212 for damage sustained during the fire in April 2019 and further notes that the net balance after costs resulted in a sum of £3,540,000 being set aside for the project.

“From the original funding allocation of £3,540,000, the project costs to date are £800,000.

“The council received a grant of £4million for the project from the Lancashire Combined County Authority

“A budget of £1m from the Government’s Pride in Place Programme (the former Levelling-Up Partnership fund) was provisionally set aside for the Bridge House refurbishment project.

“It is now expected this project will be funded from existing Section 106 funding and therefore £800,000 can be reallocated to the project.

“The project funding will require transfers from existing capital schemes totalling £510,000.

“There may be future revenue implications associated with the start-up phase of the new business centre.”