Bacup High Street Heritage Action Zone

Known as one of England's best preserved mill towns, Bacup at its peak had a diverse range of shops and leisure opportunities. It's a distinctive place, with a mix of different building styles, including the eye catching art deco former Regal Cinema, cobbled side streets and a web of passages and hidden squares, which all come together to make it an intriguing and visually arresting town centre.

Bacup's retail offer has suffered over recent years as consumer patterns changed, and it has lost its vibrancy, with many shops becoming vacant and buildings generally underused. There is a real need to re-invigorate the town's identity by bringing together residents and visitors alike.

How the Bacup High Street Heritage Action Zone will help

With £1.085 million of government funding, delivered through Historic England, the aim of the High Street Heritage Action Zone is to repurpose old buildings and underused floor space to decrease the high vacancy rate in the town. Meanwhile, funding and attention will also be focussed on key derelict historic buildings to bring them back to life, including a project working alongside the Architectural Heritage Fund. Work on several buildings around Bacup are nearing completion, regenerating key historic buildings in the town centre.

The High Street Heritage Action will collaborate with local community partners on a range of initiatives to create innovative opportunities for people to connect with the town's historic legacy. 

Stay up to date

Below you can find just some of the progress being made in the Bacup High Street Heritage Action Zone. For more, follow us on Twitter @HistoricEngland.

• Grant funding has been approved in principle for 17 buildings, and planning approval has been received for the works.
• Capital works are ongoing on the ABD Community Centre and the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank
• Capital works to the Trinity Baptist Church building started on site in November
• Two Cultural Consortium meetings have taken place and public realm consultation has begun for the plans at Burnley Road Memorial Garden and Union Street.  

Working in partnership with

• The programme will be delivered by Rossendale Borough Council alongside key partners such as Valley Heritage Building Preservation Trust.