High Street Culture
Find out what’s coming up in our four-year programme of cultural activity across England's High Streets Heritage Action Zones, continuing until 2024.
Repurposing old buildings and using vacant floor space will improve Bacup's retail offer and community spaces, with new local partnerships creating new ways for people to connect with the town's past.
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.
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.
Find out what’s coming up in our four-year programme of cultural activity across England's High Streets Heritage Action Zones, continuing until 2024.
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.
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