Darwen

Government of Darwen

Darwen is governed by its own town council, which is made up of sixteen councillors. The coucil is called Darwen Town Council. It is responsible for the things that are not dealt with by the Lancashire County Council such as the following:

• the local planning authority which is responsible for the development of new housing estates,
• the council does not have any responsibility for education or social care as this is the responsibility of the Lancashire County Council.
• The council is responsible for the upkeep of over 230 hectares (580 acres) of parks and green spaces, which includes: Darwen Cemetery, Peel Park, Waddow Hall Gardens.
• Darwen Town Council also has a responsibility to maintain various buildings such as the town hall or Darwen Library. It employs thirteen people who work in eight different departments including Administration and Finance Department and Technical Services Department. One department is fully staffed by volunteers headed up by an elected volunteer Mayor with Deputy Mayor volunteering their time on a monthly basis. The annual budget of this authority varies from £18 million to £19 million per year depending upon local need.

Darwen has its own Quarter Sessions Court for criminal cases that are dealt with by magistrates or jury trials. The court is held in Blackburn Town Hall every other month at a day when there is no business before it.

Shopping in Darwen

Darwen is famous for its shopping centre which has undergone a £50 million redevelopment that was completed in 2008 and includes retail outlets such as Sports Direct, Mothercare, Next and B&M Bargains; the new Manchester Square development provides more shops including Marks & Spencer Local, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer Simply Food.

Darwen is not a town without shopping either! It has many chain stores including:

• Primark
• Boots
• Tesco Express

There are also independent retailers like Shoe Zone, WH Smiths and Iceland as well as charity shops to find goods cheaply. Darwen’s range of clothes include brands. Darwen has a Tesco Express, Aldi and Iceland stores. It also has independent retailers in the town centre.

Attractions in Darwen

Darwen’s attractions include the Museum of English Rural Life – Lancaster University (MERL) at Castle Hill dating back to 1922 when it was founded as The Agricultural Training College Ltd., but now houses an extensive range of collections relating to rural life up until the present day such as farm machinery exhibits, social history displays, art and natural history. Some of the most interesting places to visit when in Darwen are:

• The Royal Oak pub which is said to be haunted and dates back over 500 years;
• St John’s Church, a historic grade one listed building and beautiful medieval church dating from 1430-1440;
• Priory Park with walking routes that lead you through woodland reserves where butterflies abound in summertime;
• Blackburn Golf Course – 18 hole golf course designed by Dr Alister MacKenzie (who also designed Augusta National).

Things to do in Darwen

• Harvest Festival – a large family event running for about two weeks during October each year, that celebrates all things to do with food from farming through cooking, eating and preserving; it features the Big Country Market every Saturday morning where you can buy local farm produce including meat, vegetables, fruit and breads as well as crafts made by regional artists.
• If you’re looking for some thrills, then try out either Blackpool Pleasure beach or Pembrey circuit just outside Cardiff.
• The centre of Darwen is an area of great historic interest.
• Things to do in Darwen: The centre of Darwen is a very interesting part of the town, with its rows and rows of shops dating back over one hundred years.
• The district has about 13% green space, which includes parks such as Eastbrook Hall Gardens, Abbey Woodlands, and Memorial Garden.
• The district has about 13% green space, which includes parks such as Eastbrook Hall Gardens, Abbey Woodlands and Memorial Garden.
• Interesting areas to explore include the northern side of Stoneyhurst Road, some wasteland off Vicarage Lane and the railway station area with its elegant Victorian buildings dating back to 1852.
• Interesting areas to explore include the northern side of Stoneyhurst Road, some wasteland off Vicarage Lane and railway station area with its elegant Victorian buildings dating back 1852.
• There are also a number of interesting shops in Darwen such as Woolworths, which is over one hundred years old, still selling all sorts of goodies.
• There are also a number of interesting shops in Darwen such as Woolworths, which is over one hundred years old, still selling all sorts of goodies.
• The site has been recognised by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as an important wetland providing habitat to many different types of bird .
• Some of the most interesting places to visit when in Blackburn are: Balshaw’s Textiles, The Town Hall and St. Thomas’ Church , which was built upon a Roman site dating back nearly 2000 years.