Blackburn’s historic Exchange primed for revamp

Charity Re:Source wants to transform the grade two-listed building off King William Street to deliver work and community areas, as well as a flexible event space.

Plans submitted to Blackburn with Darwen Council seek to breathe new life into the Exchange building, a former cotton exchange dating back to 1865.

The Buttress-designed scheme would deliver a 2,200 sq ft collaborative workspace on the lower ground floor, formerly Tiggi’s restaurant. This workspace would sit alongside two 200 sq ft meeting rooms and a 1,100 sq ft flexible meeting zone, as well as two 300 sq ft offices.

Upstairs, the building’s second principal space will retain its flexibility to accommodate events and exhibitions with proposals featuring a 6,300 sq ft open space and bar facilities.

A tiered mezzanine level would also be created. This level would further increase the flexibility of the space, providing a new vantage point overlooking the events area, while the 1920s block would be refurbished to provide a roof terrace and bar.

The development will ensure that key historic features of the building are conserved and reinstated to “ensure that the architectural and historic character of the asset is retained”, according to a planning statement.

After serving the cotton industry for more than three decades, the Exchange was converted into a cinema in 1912 and operated by the Apollo 5 cinema from 1992 to 2005. The property then lay vacant until its acquisition in 2015 by Re:Source, which currently uses the space for community activities and events.

Grant Prescott, associate at Buttress, commented: “This is a bit of a dream project for me as I’m a local lad and I grew up going to the cinema at the Exchange.

“We’ve worked hard to ensure that the design will respond to the historic fabric of the building by sympathetically adding high-quality new interventions”, he continued.

“Our work will introduce an architectural theme that will complement the historic character of the building and support the vision of bringing the Exchange back into sustainable use as a vibrant and diverse venue.”

Along with Buttress, the project team includes Clach Conservation Engineering and Parker Wilson Consulting.

Want to learn more about the project? Search for application number 10/23/0346 on Blackburn with Darwen Council’s planning portal.