Public to have their say on future of one of Pendle's most historic buildings

Trafalgar House, on Market Street next to Nelson Town Hall, was recently bought by Pendle Council and a consultation has been launched to decide its future.

Originally built as the Nelson Technical School, and more recently used by Nelson and Colne College and Lancashire County Council, the building has been empty for several years.

Coun. Nadeem Ahmed, Leader of Pendle Borough Council, said: “The building has a very attractive front but is now in a poor state of repair.

“We’re considering a number of options which have been put forward by David Morley Architects to either repair, partially demolish or redevelop the building.

“This is all part of our plans to make Nelson an attractive and vibrant town centre once again using funding secured through Nelson Town Deal.”

A list of options for the future of the building has been drawn up which have been considered against a number of factors, such as market demand and affordability, to create a shortlist.

These include:

Repairing the building and converting it into housing and commercial use. Partial demolition and redevelopment for housing and commercial use. Partial demolition to create additional town centre parking with EV charging points.

All options on the shortlist propose keeping the attractive front of the building.

You can view the full options and have your say on Pendle Borough Council’s website – www.pendle.gov.uk/TrafalgarHouse

The consultation will close on Thursday, September 1st.

A drop-in session is taking place on Friday, August 26th, between 10.30am and 3pm at Nelson Town Hall for anyone who would like to view the options and have their say in person.

Coun. Ahmed added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to tackle this building which has been vacant for a long time.

“Please have a look at the options and tell us what you like best. Your views will be considered when deciding the final options. It’s important we work together to create something which really meets the town’s needs.”

Final options will be decided in the coming months and will be subject to financial viability and planning permission.