Nelson Street, Darwen
Site Description
The REMADE site at Nelson Street occupies an area adjacent to Darwen town centre and close to the A666, the main route connecting Darwen to Blackburn. The River Darwen flows through the site and forms much of its western boundary. The site is covered by woodland and rough grassland and is steeply sloping in places, especially close to the river.
Grid Reference: 369042 422759
Size: 6ha
Site Boundary
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Current Status
The southern part of the site includes an area of land that has been previously reclaimed and landscaped but which is in need of further improvement. There are several footpaths through this part of the site including one that runs alongside the River Darwen linking directly to Darwen town centre. There are a number of significant structures in this area including several retaining walls.
The central area of the site contains a large rough grassland area adjacent to Frederick Street and Nelson Street. This area is relatively flat but the woodland area to the west slopes steeply down to the River Darwen. An informal footpath crosses this part of the site in an east - west direction and there is also a cycleway that links Nelson Street to Charles Street. A section of the river is also in culvert in this part of the site.
The north western area is the most inaccessible part of the site and is largely covered by woodland and dense vegetation. There are no pedestrian routes through this part of the site and there are also steeply sloping areas close to the river. Part of this area is also designated as a Biological Heritage Site.
Previous Use
A cotton mill and associated features including a weir and reservoir originally occupied part of the site. A large area of the REMADE site was previously used as gasworks and there were also railway sidings towards the north of the site. There is also evidence that mining previously took place with an old mineshaft towards the south of the site.
Proposed Use
The location of the REMADE site at Nelson Street, close to Darwen town centre and large residential areas, means it has good potential to be used by the local community. The REMADE scheme will make safe any areas of contamination and aims to open up more of the site to the public. There are opportunities to create a new area of open space close to Frederick Street and also to improve the existing pedestrian and cycleway links through the site. The north western part of the site is already identified as a Biological Heritage Site and opportunities to increase the biodiversity value and create new wildlife habitat will be explored as part of the REMADE scheme. The site includes a small landscaped area fronting onto Duckworth Street (the A666) and the potential to link this area to the rest of the site by creating a new crossing across the River Darwen will also be explored.
Aerial Photo
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Design
Work on the design for the REMADE scheme is scheduled to commence in summer 2007 with a current proposed start on site in 2008.