Demolition considered for historic Nelson building facing uncertainty

A historic but deteriorating building in Nelson faces partial or full demolition under regeneration options intended to complement other town centre changes including Pendle Rise shopping centre’s demolition and redevelopment.

Trafalgar House, near Nelson Town Hall, has been considered for new car parking spaces, electric vehicle charging points, indoor cricket facilities, an events space, an apartment and a commercial unit in recent years.

But attempts so far to find a commercially-viable proposal, and perhaps a leisure organisation like Pendle Leisure Trust or Burnley FC in the Community to get involved, have not yet been successful.

Other factors include a joint venture agreement between Pendle Council and a property development company, which requires at least a 10 per cent return on investment.  Two main proposals so far for Trafalgar House would not meet that threshold, according to a council report. Also to be considered are future parking spaces for the ACE Centre and No 1 Market Street office, and potential  EV charging points at the new Pendle Rise.

A report for Pendle’s executive states: “While a strategic leisure report outlines the potential for £1.1million from Penbrook, any Penbrook investment must reach the 10 per cent return threshold in line with the shareholder agreement. Neither the leisure [cricket] proposal, nor the original proposal centred around electric vehicle charging, reaches the threshold. This means neither will attract funding from Penbrook and so both remain unviable and undeliverable.”

Trafalgar House was built in the Victorian era as Nelson Technical School. Later, it was used by Nelson & Colne College and Lancashire County Council. But is has been disused for  years and fallen into ‘significant disrepair’, according to the report for councillors. It includes modern spaces at the back.

The site was bought by Pendle Council in 2021 with some special funding and included in part of the Nelson Town Deal along with Pendle Rise. The overall aim is to regenerate town centre sites through a joint venture called Penbrook Development between Pendle Council and Brookhouse Developments.

In  2022, consultants at David Morley Architects produced some ideas for Trafalgar House. These included keeping the historic front but redeveloping back areas for car parking, EV charging, an outdoor events space, a first-floor flat and a commercial unit. That would now cost an estimated £2.1 million.

Later in 2023, the council commissioned another firm, Alliance Leisure, to  review leisure centres. From that, another idea arose to use the Trafalgar House site for indoor cricket and other uses. The estimated cost was £3million.

But there are gaps between those estimates and existing funding. Now, Pendle Council’s executive us being asked to make some decisions about next steps.

The report for councillors adds: “The leisure report identifies that the real issue is the operational and financial viability and sustainability of the redeveloped space, and particularly at this moment in time when the impact and draw of the redeveloped Pendle Rise shopping centre has yet to be seen.”

There is an argument to ‘wait and see’ how other town centre changes go. However, the deterioration of Trafalgar House and the Town Deal funding deadline of March 2026 will not allow time for this.