| This gallery shows a number of images of the work that has been taking place in the Town centre of Bacup, Lancashire. The covering over the River Irwell, which runs through a culvert underneath the centre, was removed whilst the support structure was rebuilt. Since events like this don't take place very often, and I have a big interest in local history, I thought it might be well worth making a photographic record of the project.
Work appears to have started around October 2007, but I didn't start following the project until I first became aware of it in January of 2008. During my first visit the initial nine images (Bacup1 to Bacup9) were taken, and then as I started to take an interest in what was going on, a return visit was made in mid-February, when images Bacup10 to Bacup15 were taken. As you can see from those images, work was progressing well, and I was quite impressed at the level of strengthening that was taking place there. If anyone is planning to run a convoy of armoured tanks through the centre of the town they should have no fears about them falling into the river below anyway! 
A third visit in Mid-March saw the workings virtually covered over with concrete along a large stretch of the opening, and a week later some of the concrete had been covered over with some sort of red covering/membrane, which I couldn't identify. I hadn't planned to make another visit until April, but on the 30th of March, and whilst passing the site whilst a passenger on a passing bus, I noticed that some tarmac had been laid, and decided to jump off and take a few more shots. It was late in the day and getting a bit gloomy, but I never was one to miss an opportunity if it presents itself, and I thought that a few more shots wouldn't go amiss. April the 13th was my next visit, but thanks to a heavy shower it wasn't possible to take any pictures whilst the light was in the right direction. This meant that I had to return later in the day and shoot towards the Sun, which made some of the images a little too bright. Work had progressed quite a bit since my previous visit, and a team of engineers from National Grid Gas were there working on re-installing some of the Gas services on the section over South Street which was still waiting to be covered. A visit was also made a week later on the 20th of April, and with the work now nearing completion a weekly visit seemed like a good idea. The last remaining open stretch had now been covered with concrete blocks, whilst the areas that were already covered over were now having the walls and pavements re-instated. I believe that a meeting was held in the Bacup Library in late April to allow the public to offer their opinions about what should go there, but as is often the case, these things have already been decided by know-it-all councillors and these consultations are often just cosmetic. Another short visit was made whilst I was passing by on April the 26th, mainly because I'd noticed that the last section - the area over the bottom end of South Street, had now been concreted over. Work continued to progress at the other end of the site, where some of the pavements and stonework were being laid. Spring finally seemed to have arrived on the first May Bank Holiday weekend, and a visit there on a Sunny Saturday evening saw that a number of the old wooden barriers around the town centre side of the compound had now been removed, and some buses were using one of the restored 'temporary' laybys. A number of barriers also appeared to be blocking off a part of the main road. Image numbers Bacup90 to Bacup 103 were all taken on Saturday the 3rd of May. All of the river is now re-covered, and the project looks like it isn't too far from completion now, with stonework progressing well at the Library end and the South Street opening now sealed over. May 10th saw South Street now completely covered, and a lot of the larger plant has now departed from the site. Work progresses with the laying of the stone pavings, and the main road has been re-surfaced and partially marked. The project looks like it will be pretty close to complete by the time of my next visit. Pictures taken on this visit are Bacup104 to Bacup110. On May 18th a team of Lancashire County Council workmen were busy laying tarmac and painting lines on the roads, so I had to return later to take my pictures. Yet again I was shooting into the Sun for much of the time, but didn't have any choice at that time of day. More of the pavements and part of South Street are now covered with tarmac, and the road paving machines and rollers were all parked up by the side of the main road, so all surfaces will very likely have been laid by the time of my next visit there. Work will likely be completed on this project very soon. Pictures taken this time are numbered Bacup111 to Bacup 132. The next visit on May 24th saw big changes, the main road through the centre of Bacup (Rochdale Road) had now been re-surfaced and had new road markings applied, and for the first time since the project began traffic was now running in both directions again. The diversion along Union Street had also been removed, and South Street had re-opened to traffic once again. The new bus bays now have markings painted on them, but no shelters have yet been erected, though they are now is use. Work still continues on finishing off the pavings and walkways, and I still have no idea what will replace the former grassed areas as yet. The images in this latest batch are numbered Bacup 133 to Bacup 142. For my next visit I waited until the 29th of June, this was mainly because there wasn't any major visible progress due to the intricate nature of installing all of the many sets and flags, all of which are very time comsuming to do. The shots shown from this latest visit are numbered Bacup 143 to Bacup 149. Another visit was made a week later on the 4th of July, this time because the flagging and stonework now seemed to be almost complete in many areas, and buses are now using the new laybys, though the new bus shelters haven't yet been fitted. Street lighting has been installed at the rear of the paved area, and lamposts erected at the front of the area. Images taken during this visit are numbered Bacup 150 to Bacup 153. Another visit on the 27th of July saw that the fences had all been removed and most of the area now open to the public once again. Some of the new lamp posts were still awaiting light fittings, and still no sign of any new bus shelters appearing as yet, though a number of 'planters' have been added to add a little colour to the area. Images bacup154 to 156 were taken during this visit. Just when all looked to be completed the streetlighting department returned and removed the existing lamps and lamp standards, and replaced them all with some nicer looking 'victorian' types ones. These look like they're yet to be painted, and still no sign of any new bus shelters or stops appearing yet, but other than that work is pretty much completed now. The latest images, numbers 157 to 160, were taken on the 2nd of August. After a period of nothing much happening, in mid September the council finally got around to installing the new bus shelters, and a new notice board. This consisted of three new shelters, one for buses going towards Accrington, one for services to Rochdale, and the other for local services. Images number 169 to 173 show some of the installation work taking place. Still no sign of any litter bins though, and the amounts of chewing gum stuck to the new stonework, and the piles of dog ends seem to get larger every time I go there. |
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