Darwen Town Hall to close for £350k revamp
Darwen's Victorian town hall is set to close next month for several weeks for a £350,000 refurbishment.A contractor has been appointed and the work will start in the middle of May.The 1882 neo-classical building will shut for three to four weeks for the renovation, which includes improving the building to facilitate the relocation of the joint council and NHS services from Darwen Resource Centre.The front reception desk will relocate to the adjoining market hall for the duration of the closure.
Blackburn with Darwen Council has appointed Thomas Kershaw Builders Ltd from Littleborough as the contractor.The refurbishment works will include internal alterations and improvements to nearly all areas of the town hall.
'Serve community'
There will also be repair works to the building's fabric identified as part of a survey.Councillor Quesir Mahmood said: "This investment ensures that Darwen Town Hall can continue to serve our community effectively while making the best use of council-owned assets."The refurbishment will enhance the building's functionality without impacting its historic character."To minimise disruption, services currently provided from the ground floor of Darwen Town Hall will be relocated to a nearby alternative location which is currently being assessed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.Darwen West ward councillor Dave Smith said: "It's good to see works are being undertaken to improve the town hall."It is an important part of Darwen and the front desk is really well used."Hopefully the works will be completed on time."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
10 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Reeves to promise investment in ‘renewal' as she unveils spending plans
The Chancellor is expected to announce big increases in spending on the NHS, defence and schools as part of a spending review set to include £113 billion of investment thanks to looser borrowing rules. She will also reveal changes to the Treasury's 'green book' rules that govern which projects receive investment in an effort to boost spending outside London and the South East. Arguing that this investment is 'possible only because of the stability I have introduced' after the October budget, Ms Reeves is expected to say her spending review will 'ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, their jobs, their communities'. She will say: 'The priorities in this spending review are the priorities of working people. 'To invest in our country's security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off.' Among the other announcements expected at the spending review is £39 billion for affordable homes over the next 10 years as the Government seeks to meet its promise of building 1.5 million homes by the next election. The Treasury said this would see annual investment in affordable housing rise to £4 billion by 2029/30, almost double the average of £2.3 billion between 2021 and 2026. A Government source said: 'We're turning the tide against the unacceptable housing crisis in this country with the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation, delivering on our plan for change commitment to get Britain building.' The Chancellor has also already announced some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions, and £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, the bulk of which will fund the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk. But the spending review is expected to set out tough spending limits for departments other than health, defence and education. Although Ms Reeves is reported to have agreed to an above-inflation increase in the policing budget, this is thought to have come at the expense of cuts in other parts of Home Office spending. And sources close to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan have expressed concern that the spending review will have nothing for the capital. Ahead of the spending review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that any increase in NHS funding above 2.5% is likely to mean real-terms cuts for other departments or further tax rises to come in the budget this autumn. The Chancellor has already insisted that her fiscal rules remain in place, along with Labour's manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. She will say on Wednesday: 'I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal. 'These are my choices. These are this Government's choices. These are the British people's choices.'
Western Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Reeves to promise investment in ‘renewal' as she unveils spending plans
The Chancellor is expected to announce big increases in spending on the NHS, defence and schools as part of a spending review set to include £113 billion of investment thanks to looser borrowing rules. She will also reveal changes to the Treasury's 'green book' rules that govern which projects receive investment in an effort to boost spending outside London and the South East. These are my choices. These are this Government's choices. These are the British people's choices Chancellor Rachel Reeves Arguing that this investment is 'possible only because of the stability I have introduced' after the October budget, Ms Reeves is expected to say her spending review will 'ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, their jobs, their communities'. She will say: 'The priorities in this spending review are the priorities of working people. 'To invest in our country's security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off.' Among the other announcements expected at the spending review is £39 billion for affordable homes over the next 10 years as the Government seeks to meet its promise of building 1.5 million homes by the next election. The Treasury said this would see annual investment in affordable housing rise to £4 billion by 2029/30, almost double the average of £2.3 billion between 2021 and 2026. A Government source said: 'We're turning the tide against the unacceptable housing crisis in this country with the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation, delivering on our plan for change commitment to get Britain building.' The Chancellor has also already announced some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions, and £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, the bulk of which will fund the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk. But the spending review is expected to set out tough spending limits for departments other than health, defence and education. Although Ms Reeves is reported to have agreed to an above-inflation increase in the policing budget, this is thought to have come at the expense of cuts in other parts of Home Office spending. And sources close to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan have expressed concern that the spending review will have nothing for the capital. Ahead of the spending review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that any increase in NHS funding above 2.5% is likely to mean real-terms cuts for other departments or further tax rises to come in the budget this autumn. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her spending review (PA) The Chancellor has already insisted that her fiscal rules remain in place, along with Labour's manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. She will say on Wednesday: 'I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal. 'These are my choices. These are this Government's choices. These are the British people's choices.'
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Rachel Reeves to set out spending plans up to next general election
Rachel Reeves is preparing to unveil her highly anticipated spending review, setting out how much money the NHS, schools, police and other public services will get over the next few chancellor will emphasise plans to "invest in Britain's renewal" by spending an extra £113bn on infrastructure, such as energy and transport projects in her speech on some government departments are likely to face real-terms cuts, as the chancellor prioritises health and defence review will take the Labour government up to the next general election, likely in 2029, with day-to-day spending to be outlined for the next three years and investment budgets for the next four. Ministers have been in tense negotiations with the chancellor over the funding settlements for their Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last to agree a deal on Monday, after police chiefs called for more money, while Housing Secretary Angela Rayner reached an agreement on department is expected to receive £39bn for a programme to boost social and affordable housing over the next 10 years.A government source said this investment would help ministers hit their target of building 1.5 million new homes by chancellor will also commit to extending the £3 bus fare cap in England until March a speech last week, Reeves suggested she had turned down requests for cash from ministers and argued a squeeze on funding was a "product of economic reality".The government's spending plans have been impacted by sluggish economic growth, higher government borrowing costs and global her autumn budget last year, the chancellor announced tax rises worth £40bn to fund the NHS and other public is expected to say on Wednesday that her spending plans "are possible only because of the stability I have introduced and the choices I took in the Autumn".But the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank has warned tough choices are "unavoidable", with some departments facing spending cuts, when rising costs are accounted for. Deciding how much money to give the NHS was "one of the most consequential decisions of the spending review," the IFS Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) day-to-day budget is planned to be £202bn in 2025–26, or 39% of total day-to-day departmental IFS warned that a big increase in NHS funding would mean either real-terms cuts for other departments or further tax rises to come in the budget this autumn. The chancellor has resisted calls, including from some of her own MPs, to relax her rules on borrowing, or to raise taxes self-imposed rules require day-to-day government costs to be paid for by tax income, rather than borrowing; and to get debt falling as a share of national income over a five year increasing tax on businesses, by increasing employer National Insurance contributions, she has so far stuck to Labour's manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, national insurance or will say on Wednesday: "I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal."These are my choices. These are this government's choices. These are the British people's choices."She will also highlight infrastructure spending, such as the £14bn for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant and £15.6bn for local transport projects."The priorities in this Spending Review are the priorities of working people," she will tell MPs."To invest in our country's security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off," she will shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused Labour of "spending money it doesn't have, with no credible plan to pay for it"."That means more borrowing, more debt, and, inevitably, more tax rises in the Autumn budget," he said. "Don't be fooled. We can't afford Labour."The Liberal Democrats urged the the Labour government to take immediate steps to boost economic growth to avoid any spending cuts to public services."From social care to neighbourhood policing, this Labour government is at risk of failing to deliver the change that people were promised," Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said.
