Blackburn with Darwen Council to spend £500,000 making tower block safe
Netting will be installed to prevent debris falling from the empty town centre tower block
Blackburn with Darwen Council is set to spend £500,000 on its empty town centre tower block to stop debris falling on the streets below.
The authority is proposing to cover the 16-storey building behind the town hall and above the Mall shopping centre in Blackburn with netting.
Its growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood is asking the council’s ruling executive board on Thursday to authorise spending £500,000 on making the block and its cladding safe in the longer term and start to process of appointing a contractor to carry out the work.
It has been vacant since April last year when the last few authority staff moved out of its council offices.
Conservative growth spokesman Cllr Paul Marrow said steps to make sure the building was safe should already have been taken and that urgent action was needed to dispose of it as it was now ‘a liability’ for the council.
In his report to Thursday’s meeting Cllr Mahmood says: “The council’s tower block is a 16-storey building rising above the Blackburn Mall shopping centre.
“It was constructed around 1969 and re-clad externally in the 1990s.
“The tower block was vacated in 2022, apart from a small facilities management team with this staff group leaving in April 2024.
“The building is now no longer in operational use, and during 2025 work has been undertaken to safely decommission the building with a focus on reducing holding costs and to allow time to consider the future of the building.
“Routine inspections and maintenance have continued during this period and have identified maintenance actions to be taken.
“These works have necessitated the creation of a limited public exclusion zone, as a safety precaution.
“While undertaking these works, the council engaged specialist contractors to advise on the condition of the building and how best to protect the building and its surroundings.
“The building structure is safe.
“However, given the age and condition of the external cladding system and increasingly severe weather conditions, our independent assessors have concluded that the entire building should be enveloped as soon as possible as a further precautionary measure with works commencing within the next four weeks.
“More specifically, the solution identified requires the installation of a full-height debris netting system fixed to the building structure to provide an effective interim control measure.
“This solution, with necessary maintenance and inspection regimes, is estimated to cost up to £500,000, and can remain in place for up to five years.
“This solution would also enable the council to assess the future of the building and engage with the Mall’s owners on possible long-term options, given our landlord and freehold interdependencies.
“Given the need to make progress quickly, we have been working with a specialist contractor with a track record in these matters, acknowledging there are few available in the UK with the expertise in dealing with a complex high-rise building like the tower block.
“Subject to executive board approval, officers propose to procure the specialist contractor.
“The tower block is a complex building linked to Blackburn Mall.
“A further report will be provided to the executive board on developing a long-term asset management plan for the building, including future options which will include engagement with the Mall’s current owners and any other interested private developer / investors.
“The council has a duty to ensure that the building is protected and secure, and the risk from falling materials is mitigated to a minimum as any loss has the potential to be severe.
“To meet the council’s duty of care to the public and comply with the insurance requirements, the council must take the necessary action urgently, given the possible consequences.”
Cllr Marrow said: “The tower block has already been empty for some time and the council should already have been engaging with the Mall as to it future.
“As it stands it is a liability to the council.
“The longer it stands empty the more it will deteriorate and the more it will cost the authority and the borough’s council taxpayers.
“This work has to be done as it is a safety matter.”