A NIGHTCLUB has shut down and is set to go into liquidation following a slump in business over the past few months.
Lar-de-Dars on Willow Street, Accrington, was once the town's premier nightclub reaching a peak of popularity in the late 1980s.
But this week furniture and fittings were taken out of the club and loaded into a van.
Although the club has not yet gone into liquidation it is expected that a firm of liquidators will be appointed later this month.
It is thought the Lytham St Anne's-based firm of T S Wallace will be appointed.
Lar-de-Dars which closed at the end of last month, was originally the home of Accrington Arts Club.
The club, which is owned by Junction 7 Entertainment Ltd, first opened its doors in 1982 following a £1M refurbishment.
It was later named Eclipse, but dwindling numbers forced it to close several years ago following the death of owner Ken Massam.
It was then re-opened as Club Eclectic which was forced to close when running costs spiralled out of control
Since then it has had several different owners including businessman Ken Marland, who started as a DJ at the club back in 1984.
This week John Corbett, a DJ at the club said: "I went to work there three months ago to try to pick things up.
"The number of people they were pulling in was rubbish - the club was lucky if it was getting more than 100 people on a Friday and 250 going in on Saturday. For a place that holds 1,000 people that's pretty bad.
"I always felt the way forward was to try to give people a good party.
"The dance area was alright but the main area was often quite empty."
Another former staff member who did not wish to be named said: "It has been on the borderline for quite a while and as soon as it started making a loss they said they would pull the plug."
- ACCRINGTON currently has only one other nightclub, the recently-opened Industry club based on Church Street since Churchills closed and Opium was gutted in a blaze in December 2004.
