FOR years concerns have been raised about Accrington’s night-time economy.

But as new investors look to the town to open up new bars and clubs and revitalise fading ones, Lancashire Telegraph reporter Nic Marko looks to see if it’s enough to tempt punters back.

FOR decades, the centre of Accrington was renowned for its vibrant nightlife.

Every Friday and Saturday drinkers revelled in its ‘circuit’ where people would move from packed pub to packed pub – and on to one of its nightclubs.

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Queues to get inside bars around the Church Street, Warner Street and Blackburn Road area were a common sight, especially on a Sunday with people coming from further afield to keep the weekend party spirit going.

Then in the 2000s, it started to fade badly. The rising cost of drinks, the smoking ban and competition from other towns and cities took their toll.

But the town centre nightlife has been undergoing a revival recently, with new places popping up and old bars being brought back to life. And the aim for this new vanguard of investors is simple.

“We want to get Accrington back to its former glory,” said Matthew Cartwright, the manager at the newly revamped and branded Varsity bar in Blackburn Road.

“It’s been going steady since we opened last month, but it’s starting to pick up now.

“What we’re aiming to do is boost the nightlife scene in the area. Saturday nights are picking up, now we need to work on our Fridays. We just need a few weeks to work out what we need to do. But we’re going to have big plans.

“We’re hoping to make the bar a central point of the nightlife.”

Varsity took the place of the Calder, but its bosses said it has more to offer than your average pub.

It also offers food and plays music until the early hours of the morning hoping to tempt in a younger crowd.

Blackburn Road also offers friendly local boozers The Nags Head and The Railway. Walk further down the street to the corner of Church Street and you’ll see another of Accrington’s largest pubs The Commercial Hotel.

Nicole Duffy, who is shift manager at the JD Wetherspoon pub, said it was difficult for the area to compete with nearby Manchester, but she was hopeful that Accrington can return to its previous success.

She said: “A lot of the time people prefer to go further afield, Manchester is so close.

“We get very busy at the start of the night, people like to come to us to pre-drink before they go out.

“But then younger people always like to go somewhere with music.

“We’ve had a few closures, but places are just opening like Varsity, there is definitely starting to be more choice.

“Hopefully it will make a difference and the nightlife will get better.”

A short distance away in Wellington Street is the Poplar Social Club, which hosts frequent music nights.

The venue is also home to the Wellington Suite, which can be hired out for events, which was recently refurbished for £55,000.

Stewardess Linzi Clark said they hope to provide an ‘elegant’ spot in the town’s resurgent night scene.

She said: “We just want to encourage people to come in and have a drink.

“We’re an elegant little venue and do some really nice cocktails.

“It would be nice to get a slow pub crawl going, there are some really good pubs around Accrington now.”

A five-minute walk away, Warner Street offers a different type of venue for people to enjoy, featuring music until the early hours of the morning.

The road features the popular Fresh Nightclub and next-door to it is the recently reopened ‘The Attic’.

The bar has changed management a number of times in recent years, but Donna Whitehead, who took over The Attic in January, is eager to make it a success again.

The DJ said: “We’re looking to offer a different experience.

“There’s been a missed opportunity by people not capitalising on this place and others in the area.

“We want to get all ages in there.

“We’re not just targeting one group.

“The venue used to focus on indie and rock but we’ll be playing all sorts of music.

“We’re confident of making it work and it being a big part of the town’s nightlife.”

Representatives for the town centre on Hyndburn Council are also aware of the importance of a prosperous nightlife for the area.

Councillors hope a positive nightlife could bring other positives to the economy and hopefully increase daytime trade.

Cllr June Harrison, who sits on the council’s town centre team, said: “I do think it is important that we have a positive nightlife, as long as people act accordingly.

“It should definitely be seen as a good thing, it’s bringing jobs to people in the town.”

Cllr Tony Dobson said: “For a town to be busy and be a success it needs to have a group of people going out and making the town look busy.

“A town centre needs a balanced economy including shops, restaurants and a night life.

“We had that in Accrington a few years ago and then we seemed to have lost it a bit.

“When you struggle with that it’s extremely difficult to get that back.

“There’s a nice little corner at the top of the town Warner street down to the Wetherspoons.

“I am hopeful it is coming back.

“Everything seems to come in cycles it just needs one or two places to really push it and get that advertising out there.”