Planning permission has been granted for the transformation of Accrington’s historic Town Square in honour of the World War I battalion, The Accrington Pals, who were decimated on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Designed by local landscape architects from IBI Group, the concept reimagines the Square, its shop front heritage buildings, and the adjoining streets. The simple, high quality and flexible space encourages community use and local events, whilst permitting the listed Town Hall and Market Hall to remain dominant features of the historic Square.
Ben Riley, Senior Landscape Architect at IBI Group said: “At the heart of the design is a narrative based on local heroes, The Accrington Pals. We are very proud to have worked with Hyndburn Borough Council and the local residents to realise their vision and create a lasting memorial interwoven into Town Square’s landscape.”
Developed in collaboration with graphic design consultancy Smiling Wolf, the heritage interpretation is realised through six bespoke benches that comprise a horizontal wooden seating piece that represents the duckboards the Pals would have walked along at the bottom of the trenches. These are supported by granite pieces, containing text and images depicting the last 300 years’ history of Accrington, including that of the battalion.
Incidentally sat on each bench are three small sculptural pieces that immortalise significant memories during this history, including the infamous ‘Pals Dog’ Patch, the Accrington Stanley Groundsman’s dog, and a squirrel signifying the start of the town’s heritage route, the Acorn Trail. Each of the benches are also off-set by granite paving bands that interpret the connected trench lines.
Councillor Clare Cleary, Cabinet Member for Accrington Town Centre said: “It has been good to see so many local stakeholders debating and influencing the development of the designs including the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the Accrington Town Team, the Hyndburn Chamber of Trade, the Accrington PALs Working Group, and many others including residents. We are also very pleased with the creative ideas for promoting Accrington’s heritage, and I can’t wait for the opening next summer.”
The scheme was developed in partnership with engineers Mott MacDonald, and partially funded by the Heritage Lottery through the Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI). The work is due to start on site in May 2017.
