Earnie’s – The Story so Far

Earnie’s – The Story so Far

Earnie’s is located on Dockray Street, Colne and is scheduled to open to the public at 4 pm on Friday 24th May 2019. 

Planning permission was unanimously approved at the Colne and District Committee meeting on Thursday 9th May.

The facility is the brainchild of local businessman Paul Earnshaw and his wife Clare. Once fully operational, it will provide a number of leisure facilities including roller skating, pool, paintball & airsoft, an arcade and a ‘scare mill’.  The premises will also house a juice bar, bar, food court and a soft play area. 

DJ Stand Off Session

Earnie’s has an ethos of ‘engaging the community’ and they are looking for local teenagers in age range of 14-18 to become DJs for their new roller disco arena. They are hosting a ‘DJ Stand Off‘ event on Saturday 11th May 2019 from 1 pm with the intention of selecting the best DJs. If you are interested, head over to the ‘DJ Stand Off‘ page for more details.

Engaging the Community

We’ve already seen Earnie’s really push the boat out in terms of engaging local people.  Many local folk are helping out to make this venture a success.  Earnie’s itself has already hosted a Ghost Night to raise money for Colne in Bloom and Pendle Dogs in Need, invited our local Fire Crews to train in the building (practising rescue operations in cellars and rescue operations in smoke filled areas) and also welcomed local teenagers on the Princes Trust Youth programme (delivered by our local Fire Service). Then, there’s the ‘DJ Stand Off‘ event above which is designed to integrate local teens into the business. This really is only the tip of the iceberg … Paul tells us that he has plans to allow community groups to use rooms when they are available.

 
Phased Approach 

Locals will remember the building as site of the former Kippax Biscuit Factory, but prior to that it used as the Market Hall until it closed in April 1973. The building itself has quite a bit of history. If you’re interested, you can read about it at Colne – A Market Town.

As one would expect, a huge amount of work is required to transform the internals of the old Market Hall building  into a  modern, quality facility. That said, Paul is keen on preserving as many of the original features as possible whilst also ensuring the venue is accessible.

The various attractions & offerings will be rolled out, one by one, in a phased approach. For more information about each area, follow the links here :-

• Earnie’s – Planning Approval 
• Earnie’s – ‘DJ Stand Off’ Event
• Phase 1 – Earnie’s – Roller skating, Juice Bar and Arcade (24th May 2019)
• Phase 2 – Earnie’s – Pool Hall Area (~June 2019)
• Phase 3 – Earnie’s – Food Court & Soft Play Area (~July 2019)
• Phase 4 – Earnie’s – Airsoft and Paintball (~July 2019)
• Phase 5 – Earnie’s – Scare Mill (~October 2019)