A GRADE-I listed mill has been temporarily closed due to the 'dangerous condition’ of an adjacent mill chimney.

Queen Street Mill in Burnley has been closed off after Kings Mill chimney, which lies over the road, had been deemed unsafe by surveyors.

The section of Queen Street from Harrison Street and Briercliffe Park was closed off with a metal gate.

A letter has been pinned to the mill gates, it reads: “We apologise for the inconvenience but due to safety concerns with Kings Mill chimney we will be closed until further notice.

“We hope to be open again very soon.”

The mill was built in 1894 for the Queen Street Manufacturing Company and shut in 1982 before it was turned into a museum.

It is the last surviving 19th century steam powered weaving mill in the world.

John Hamilton, who lives near Queen Street, said: “I do hope this chimney is safe and doesn’t fall down.

“It would be awful for the mills to be damaged, especially with the Queen Street Mill being listed.

“I’ve seen the closures but I don’t know exactly how long they have been up for.

“Both mills are beautiful.”

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: “(The mill) is temporarily closed because of the dangerous condition of an adjacent building.

“The decision has been taken to close Queen Street Mill as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of people working in and visiting the museum.

“The museum is expected to remain closed until the chimney on the neighbouring building has been made safe.

“Queen Street Mill will therefore not reopen until this situation is resolved.”

Several businesses and organisations are based at the Kings Mill, including Action for ASD - East Lancashire Autism Resource Centre.

On its Facebook page, a spokesman said: “The survey of the chimney has now taken place and the landlord is now waiting to receive the surveyor's report.

“Once this has been received our landlord will inform us of the findings.

“Until then, the building has been closed off by the council and is not accessible by anyone.

“Therefore we have no choice but to keep the autism resource centre closed. Staff members will be working from home again today,

“Please check the website for updates, we will also send out emails to our mailing list.”

The Queen Street Mill chimney is also undergoing work.