Historic club will face wrecking ball

An historic club, which was wrecked by fire will be demolished, Blackpool Council has said.
Firefighters at the scene of a major blaze at the former Comrades Club on Adelaide Street in Blackpool. July 13, 2017Firefighters at the scene of a major blaze at the former Comrades Club on Adelaide Street in Blackpool. July 13, 2017
Firefighters at the scene of a major blaze at the former Comrades Club on Adelaide Street in Blackpool. July 13, 2017

The old Comrades Club on Adelaide Street was gutted by the blaze last month.

Assessments carried out by Blackpool Council and the Adelaide Street Family Practice, which owns the site, revealed that the building is now too dangerous to keep standing.

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A council spokesman said: “The club will be demolished. The building has deteriorated and is dangerous.

“Both the owners’ inspection and our own independent commission has found that it is not possible to save it, though that is obviously a disappointment.”

The Comrades Club was set up in 1920 by ex-servicemen returning from the First World War. It provided a social meeting point for ex-servicemen for more than 90 years.

Joan Humble, chairman of Blackpool Civic Trust, said: “The Comrades Club was on the list of buildings of community value within the town and we also worked with Blackpool Council to put it on the local list of historically important buildings.

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“We were very disappointed to see the building close down and its condition deteriorate, and were further disappointed to see that large parts of itwere burned down in the fire. We would be very disappointed to see the building knocked down, but we do acknowledge that in its current state it’s dangerous and can’t be allowed to stand in that condition.”

An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

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