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HOTSPOT PENNINE LANCASHIRE
GREEN LIGHT FOR DIVERSIFICATION
East Lancashire has massive opportunities to become a national and global leader in low carbon and green technologies.
And it is an opportunity it must seize as part of a drive to diversification that will strengthen the local economy, says Miranda Barker, chief executive of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce.
In the first of a new series, Lancashire Business View is examining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing specific parts of the county. To compile our SWOT analysis of the ‘Pennine’ east, we’ve talked to a range of business and political leaders.
When it comes to opportunity, Miranda is clear. She says: “Huge demand is about to created for low carbon technology. It is a key sector for the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership. It represents a real opportunity.”
The need for advanced manufacturing to look at diversification is also clear as Covid-19 continues to massively impact on sectors such as aerospace and automotive, two of East Lancashire’s traditional strengths.
Those strengths that have served Pennine Lancashire communities so well have also been exposed as potential weaknesses by the pandemic. The massive downturn in civil aviation has hit the supply chain hard.
Miranda explains that advanced manufacturing and the expertise and innovation that exists in the east of the county act as magnets for inward investment. That is what makes them so vital.
However, the pandemic has been punching holes in that supply chain, which is a threat to the local economy. Miranda warns: “There is a real threat we will lose that cluster, which is so important to us, if we get too many holes.”
There are positives, a county recovery plan is being developed for civil aerospace. And the defence side of the sector remains strong, with the Tempest project to develop the next generation fighter jet programme set to deliver large-scale benefits for East Lancashire.
In another sign of strength BAE Systems announced in December plans to recruit a record number of apprentices and graduates, including more than 320 in its air division, which includes its plant at Samlesbury.
Miranda says that there are also innovative projects in the pipeline that will push forward the green economy locally. They included RedCAT, the new Lancashire Centre for Alternative Technologies based in Hyndburn.
It links in with the low carbon demonstrator which is part of the AMRC North West development on the emerging enterprise zone in Samlesbury.
Aside from manufacturing, Miranda sees the UCLan campus at Burnley as another great opportunity to drive economic growth and deliver vital skills.
She also talks of the strength of East Lancashire’s town centres in terms of their links with the communities they serve, adding: “They are really loved by people, you only had to see how Blackburn and Burnley town centres were among the first to recover after the initial lockdown.”
Darwen is one of those well-loved East Lancashire town centres. The government’s Town Fund presents a massive opportunity for improvement and regeneration work.
A Town Deal board has been created – bringing together experts who all have close links to Darwen – to put together its bid for up to £25m of government cash.
A vision is emerging as the bid comes together which includes major town centre regeneration projects, including a sports village complex. Local businessman Wayne Wild, chairman of the deal board, says: “Some of the projects are going to be really exciting.”
He says that with match-funding from local government, plus private investment, the total sum available for those projects could be more than £200m. And he adds: “For a town the size of Darwen that is hugely significant.”
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