Like much of Bacup, Broadclough is rapidly becoming a commuter area for cities and towns such as Manchester, Burnley, Accrington, Preston, Blackburn, Rochdale (and further afield).

[5] In January 2024 a Viking gaming piece or weight was found in Broadclough, which contained symbols including runes on its base.

[6] The village is made more significant because there exists what has been argued to be the most important archaeological site in the East Lancashire area, namely Broadclough Dykes.

[14] The prevailing train of thought places Broadclough Dykes as an ancient structure, however, there is a suggestion that it may actually have an industrial origin as open-cast site for extraction of fireclay, from beneath an exposed coal seam.

[15] Whilst the industrial nature of the dyke is a possibility, Thomas Newbigging, in his 1887 book Historical Sketch of the Forest of Rossendale, reported the farmer from Dykes House Farm confirmed the undulating and pitted land closer to the turnpike, and behind what is now Broadclough Mill, is invariably made up of loose soil and is of a filled-up character, containing fragments of stick, bark and other substances that where not normally found in the natural deposits,[16] suggesting the soils dug out of the dyke had been used to construct defences further down the slope.

[24] After over a hundred years of trading and having lost its licence in 1959, in 1971, Broadclough's pub, the Roebuck (opposite Lord's Court), was demolished as part of the Bacup slum clearance, allowing Burnley Road to be straightened.

[29] The section of Burnley Road that runs through Broadclough has become an accident blackspot,[30][31][32] where speeding is seen as a problem on the road, with people into Broadclough from Weir often driving like they're still in open countryside according to local residents whilst Councillor Jimmy Eaton said: "It's not that long ago that a lady was killed not so far away from where this accident took place, and that wasn't the first.

The County Councillor has gone on to spearhead residents' calls for the creation of a bypass with the suggestion of utilising elements of the old highway Bacup Old Road.

[33] There have been several attempts to further develop Broadclough; however, to date these have been refused on several grounds, with the main concerns have been the impact on the open countryside and moorlands and of Burnley Road, on which there has been a large number of accidents.

[42] Broadclough Mill is the traditional starting point of the Bacup and Stacksteads Carnival parade which takes place each year in June.