church commercial
 

Have seen roofers replacing the slates on the old warehouse next to the commercial pub. Scaffolding has been up for ages but this roofing is a new activity, whats happening to the building anyone know?

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Sorry, no idea but it wants saving that's for sure

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It is a listed building so can't be demolished, no idea what the plans are though

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believe being done up as offices

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An interesting point - the Commercial pub (or what's left of it) next door is actually older than the warehouse. In my opinion, the Commercial is actually the finest classic Georgian building in Hyndburn...anyone disagree?

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Quite agree, Mr T, which makes it all the sadder to see it now. Went past it today and I was appalled to see the state that this once-excellent hostelry has been allowed to sink into. :(

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It makes you wonder that instead of spending £12m on that monstosity called the Acorn Health Centre they could have knocked the Warehouse/Pub through and made a Primary Health facility there? I think it would have been a hell of alot cheaper - in addition to preserving some great buildings and making a great gateway into the centre of the Borough.

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I'm assuming that the Acorn Health Centre is that block which seems to have been dumped at the bottom of Lonsdale Street? £12m?...has it got marble and alabaster fittings and gold plated taps in the bogs?

Yes, it would've made more sense to use the buildings at Church. The warehouse is a listing building anyway and an important part of our industrial heritage, so it would've been great to see it being put to good use...still, since when did sense come into the decisions made by officialdom? :rolleyes:

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Unfortunately this area of Church has been left to rot IMHO, where once we had a thriving community with local shops to serve the residents now there are very few shops in Church. Maybe some foresight should be given when building flats and sheltered accomodation for the elderly and disabled as to their accessibility to shops and such like. It seems certain areas of Hyndburn can get all the grants going whilst others are just left to fester along with some historic buildings.

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It's a fair point Bernie. When a lot of the social housing was built in Church there was a few more shops and services.

Church at that time as you know better than I do was quite a thriving community.

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was a good place to live when i was yon (early 70s) various shops, chemist, post office, good watering holes, seemed to go down the pan when i left.:D;)

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they could have even made it into a night club..it would have eased the congested town centre a bit!!

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i think the bit as you come under the bridge at Church/Ossy from Blackburn is dank and dull, right upto Church traffic lights, it reminds me of something out of the dark ages

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Should public money be used to maintain and repair private houses?

Personally I don't think it should. Not unless we all get the same.

It is the people that make an area what it is, not just the buildings. If Church is rotting, as said above, then a lot of that is to do with the people.

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An interesting point was raised earlier - that the Commercial pre-dates the warehouse. May be so, but not a lot in it. The warehouse is an 1830s building. Built by Hargreaves of Broad Oak, it replaced an earlier one in Canal Street. The road there was laid down as a turnpike by John Metcalfe, 'Blind Jack of Knaresborough' in the 1820s, but the pub is not mentioned in Baines' 1824 directory. It was sited there to catch travellers on the new turnpike and those travelling from Ossie and Clayton.

My dad told everyone " I go to church every Sunday - Church Commercial;"

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Public money should be spread about about as you say. And that was the original intention, but the Council got stuck in one area.

We have similar housing problems all across the Borough. But just recently we are starting to see resources starting to trickle out into areas such as Clayton and East Accrington.

Allocation of resources across the Borough, have to be seen as being fair to all areas. Whilst accepting that some areas are in more need of it than others. And that's one of the dilemmas Local Council's face

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I never said that.

I said this

Did you read my post, ignore it on purpose and then answer something completely different?
You should be a Politician :rolleyes::D

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Apologies Neil if I read your post wrong. Do I think that public money should be used on private houses.

Yes, the housing problems not just in Hyndburn, but throughout in East Lancs are of such a magnitude that without public investment we would have major problems on our hands. And that's understating the problem.

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No problem it is easy to get confused with so many posts. Thanks for the answer.

What about when those houses belong to land lords and are renting the houses as a business to make money?

I suspect a lot of the houses in Church will be rented.

Do you think public money should be spent on these rented houses?

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I think were public money is being used to regenerate an area, and housing in particular then we should be looking for a contribution from the property owners, be they owner occupied or private landlords

Good private landlords have a role to play in helping to regenerate some of the more run down areas. But they shouldn't expect just public money to be thrown at the problem. Private landlords can help by making sure the property they own is of a decent standard.

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I could not agree more. I believe if a property has been neglected by the owner for an extended period, the Council should have the power to seize the building and do whatever is needed then sell it or the land. As an example, the old Palladium in Ossy which has been an eyesore for years. The Council should be able to demollish it, if they see fit, and sell the land on with the owner getting nothing.

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When will the two eyesore buildings (commercial and warehouse) be demolished?.
__________________________________________________ _______________
:wave8::wave8:

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I used to work in that warehouse and its main bldg across the street. Use to hate it when we had to go over and pick up tea & toast for our 10am break. Use to get some rough comments from the bus stop across the street.

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There's been another blaze at the site;
Fly-tipped rubbish torched in Church (From Lancashire Telegraph)

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The Church Commercial closed in 1998;
Roofer beaten to death (From Lancashire Telegraph)

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I have merged the old and new thread on this topic

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In the LET;
Oswaldtwistle former pub changed into large scale exhibit (From Lancashire Telegraph)

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I am all for young folk learning photographic skills
.............but the result looks a big eyesore mess!

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passed the commercial the other day & its got some kind of posters plastered all over it ......

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You would be the only one if you did :D

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Ya mean he's never popped into Gift Print to say hello Dave, funny that for a boy about town;)

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You're right Marg ;) :)

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And it didn't look like an eyesore before?

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It is a more noticable eyesore now

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The plus points

1. Young people's work is displayed in an eyecatching way (would you have bothered to see it if we'd have had an exhibition at the centre?)
2. Young people have learnt a lot about the heritage of the area (would you have known this without this eyecatching display?)
3. Young people from the area may have their work displayed on an International stage during the opening weekend of the Olympics.
4. An eyesore has been transformed into a piece of art.
5. An eyesore that is for sale has got a huge amount of publicity and discussion and may well get sold because of this.
6. People sat at the traffic lights have something attractive to look at instead of a derelict building.
7. The older people involved have passed on their knowledge and enjoyed sharing with young people, plus they're flattered to have their pictures included.
8. The council have been supportive and have put young people together with a business to get something done.
9. The Civic Arts Centre has got involved with something that could put it on the map nationally.
10. The project has brought funds into the area for other projects.
11. Young people have learnt new skills in photography.


Negatives
Sorry, can't actually think of one. It was an eyesore before and may, in some people's eyes still be an eyesore, but at the very least it is an eyesore with a purpose.

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I wish I had been given the opportunities to do the many interesting things that are available to the young folk today..........I would have loved the photography experience Gayle.

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I haven't seen what's been done to the Commercial, yet. So can't really comment.

However I will say it can't be any worse than looking at the continuing deterioration of this fine building, and it presumably won't have caused any further structural damage to it.

If I was stuck at the traffic lights I think I'd prefer to look at the work these young people had done, rather than the paint peeled facade, that I'd looked at with sadness, a hundred times before.

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Right i havent read the last 2 pages in this thread but....me and a mate from Blackburn drove past The Commercial the other evening and when we stopped at the lights he looked over and the only thing he said was 'wow thats an improvement' ... So there you go... And thats coming from someone who doesn't come through Church all that often

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We're looking at putting a photography project together for older people. Perhaps you would be interested? I'm just looking for a photography teacher/project leader at the minute. Might be after Christmas now when it all comes together but hopefully going to happen.

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Big improvement Gayle. More importantly it gets young people interested in the history of the area.

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Well I didn't manage to get out this week so haven't seen it, but hell surely anything is better than the way it was before

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Before the make over

"The Commercial" (Pub) Church nr Accrington, Lancashire:: OS grid SD7428 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland - photograph every grid square!

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I would be interested Gayle as long as it doesn't clash with my childcare committments.
I'm sure I could learn a lot.

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I think it's great, it's only a temporary measure, and it's obviously got people talking. Recognised some of the people in the photos too. :)

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The decorations on the Commercial are now peeling off!!!!!

Saw it peeling off today!

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STILL peeling off!. Nothing done to it yet!!!!

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Its a good job Gayle does not go to our Church or she would have been shoving that buffet up your nose this morning after the service :D:D

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I passed by today and saw it said "I wore clogs until I was six". Lucky person, I was sent out of Grammar School on the first morning for wearing clogs and I was eleven. I bet some of you wore them a lot longer and maybe still do.

I think it takes your eyes of the road for a few seconds and after having my car smashed into from behind when stopped at the lights a few weeks ago I was a bit nervous.

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Is that not down to bad driving?

The streets are full of things to distract drivers, advertising signs, shop windows, ladies pushing prams up steep hills ;)

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Certainly is Neil, the posters were not up then.

The chap in the big white van admitted he was looking at his job sheet and set off when the filter for Henry street turned green, we were still parked at the red light waiting to go onto Blackburn road. It is still a distraction though and I do agree there are plenty of other things on the road to take your eye of it, especially this hot weather when clothes are skimpy and us old chaps want a second look.

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That just proves that your getting on now Neil if thats all you see:D

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It did look a bit of a mess, when I saw it, the week after it was done.

Row as art work at Hyndburn pub falls flat (From Lancashire Telegraph)

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Which is why it's been taken down!!!!

Seems like this is one of those 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situations.

This project has been a huge success - regardless of what this article seems to imply. It has been fantastic for the young people and has given them a real shot of having their work showcased at the opening ceremony of next year's Olympics. I have had many, many, MANY people making a point of ringing me, emailing me, even collaring me after Church, telling me how they loved it.

It was ALWAYS intended to be TEMPORARY. I had to give reassurances to the council that it would be removed when it got tatty. It had got tatty so it has been removed. This is now the biggest non-story that the Telegraph could possibly have printed.

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Er...as I posted, when I first saw the photographs in the paper, I thought it an interesting idea.

It did look a mess, not long after it was done. Which was my only other comment.

I wasn't attacking anyone.

Unlike others have done, in the paper.

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Sorry Garinda, didn't mean to seem like I was venting my frustration at you - was just answering the post that said it looked a mess with the explanation that that's why it's been taken down. I absolutely agree that it had started to look a mess so no arguing there.

The rest of my post was my frustration at the Telegraph making a story out of a non story and seemingly switching from being really positive to being negative and saying that the artwork had fallen flat. I'm not sure I even understand what they mean when they say it's fallen flat - it was a big success.

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Gayle don't get bugged at the media, its 90% crap these days,nationals included in my comment.;)

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It certainly got people talking, Gayle.

I asked many people what they thought, and didn't have one negative comment ... they wanted to know more about it, and were impressed by the whole project which these young people were involved in.. thumbs up all round I say.. a good marketing ploy for the Civic Arts Centre too .. :da:

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Ignore the LT.

It was clearly meant to be a short-term project. Otherwise it would have been a painted mural.

I did enjoy looking at it, whilst stuck at the lights.

:)

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It also sparked a conversations about the various jobs, there were in the mills.

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Well unfortunately I wasn't able to see, it except in media photos, but hell it couldn't have been worse that it was before, after all it was only short term and as Rindi said if it had meant to be permanent it would have been done in paint

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Row as art work at Hyndburn pub falls flat (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Looking at the story and then the comments written after it, It appears that things "arty" are not really getting much better. I loved the "...overpaid muppet" comment but the delicious irony of Britcliffe's comment took my breath away. Thank you Peter, better late than never. And the bit about the posters being "... part of Lancashire Museum's Cultural Olympiad" made me laugh so much it was almost worth the money wasted on it. Almost, but not quite.

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Your comments are as pathetic as the the overpaid muppet comment, both of you obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

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Neil, hi! Thanks for the enthusiastic 'welcome back'. I knew I could count on you. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that now the closed season is here again I shall have oodles of time to poke fun at and be generally disrespectful to those who think themselves better than the rest of us. I'm going to take it easy for a few days, just until I get back into my stride again and then watch me go. I have loads of un-PC opinions and rants just bursting to get out.

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Nice one A-B welcome back.:D

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Given the precedent of this artwork on the Commercial pub, I wonder if this building could now be Hyndburn’s answer to the fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square. As most of you are probably aware, this plinth was empty for many years because the powers that be did not know whom or what to put on there. Over the last ten years or so, though, we’ve had a sailing ship in a bottle, an armless and legless pregnant woman (that was absolutely ghastly) and clowns stood on there for one hour, 24 hours a day for a year. That was fun.

With a subtle nod to the Commercials location, maybe someone could stick a barge in a bottle up on the roof. Or we could be really daring and stick a panopticon up there. Or maybe use the location as a site for an annual ‘Flash Mob’.

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I'm at a loss.

Why is A--b's opinion dismissed as pathetic?

He's probably the most academically qualified person on here, when it comes to talking about art. Certainly a little more so than myself. Which is probably why we were both approached by the organisation involved to sit on their board.

On this occasion I actually liked what these people did. I thought it was bold, and worked as a piece of enviromental art.

As I presume it was funded by the lottery, I've no problem there. That's profit raised from people who choose to play it. It's not tax.

My only comment was regarding the execution. Noting that it started to peel off, only a few weeks after it was done. That seemed a shame, after all the work that the young people must have put into it.

The wet and damp weather doesn't affect billboards like that. They're up for months.

When it was first done I think it visually looked better than it does now.

But as Gayle said, it wasn't meant to be there forever. It was a short-term project, as far as the end display was concerned.

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Yeah, Why was my opinion dismissed as "pathetic"? Come on, big boy, explain yourself.

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Gosh, hello Acrylic-bob. Welcome back, where you bin?

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Hi Honey, I've been in sunny Blackpool, feeding folk. It's nice to be home.

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Decorations on Commercial gone.........

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Bee! Welcome back!

Oh..and A-B too! I forgot to mention that the other day.

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Aparently the Observer and Gayle had little difficulty in locating the owner of the Commercial Hotel at Church; Chiltern (Accrington) Ltd.

I am astonished that HBC have not been able to locate the owners and compel them to do something about the disgraceful state of their property. I mean it's not as though they do not have the requisite powers.

Hi Tealeaf, I forgive you.

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The Commercial Hotel Project - Oswaldtwistle - YouTube

A behind the scenes video showing the artwork going up - for those who are interested.

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Groove once nailed a bird behind Church Commercial.

I remember her, while you did a poor job with a hammer, the rest of us had sex with her.

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:s_aim1::s_aim1::s_aim1::s_aim1::s_aim1::s_aim1: