Re:Source completes £1.5 million redevelopment of historic Exchange building in Blackburn improving accessibility

England-based Re:Source charity has completed the £1.5 million (€1.7 million) redevelopment of the Exchange in Blackburn, a landmark building dating back more than 160 years, which will be opened to the public, BBC reported.

The redevelopment includes a new spiral staircase, lift and toilet facilities, and the restoration of features including stone tracery with its original stained glass, hidden for decades. The work is the latest ambitious phase of the restoration which has transformed accessibility and the visitor experience throughout the historic building on King William Street.

Among the guests at the reopening will be Rebekah Newton, who hit the headlines in 2002 when she was unable to access the building in her wheelchair when it was operating as a cinema. Newton's parents raised concerns about the lack of wheelchair access to the building in 2002 just after she had got out of hospital following a car crash. Now Newton, who lives in Burnley, has been invited back to become one of the very first people to use the building's new lift.

Dr Alastair Murdoch, Re:Source trustee, said the redevelopment represents far more than bricks and mortar. "This redevelopment represents far more than bricks and mortar," Murdoch said. "It is about opening this incredible building to everyone, preserving its heritage while creating new possibilities for future generations."

The public will be able to discover hidden histories uncovered during renovation including a tunnel once used to access the cheap seats at the opening celebrations plus step-free access to all three floors of the site from one entrance for the very first time.

The building first opened as the town's cotton exchange in 1865 and then became a cinema in 1908.

View complete details of Re:Source's £1.5 million Exchange Blackburn redevelopment and accessibility improvements.