72 SOUTH RIBBLE
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Those major economic development projects currently in the pipeline include Lancashire Central at Cuerden, which has the potential to create up to 5,600 full-time jobs.
A planning application was submitted towards the end of last year by Lancashire County Council and its development partner Maple Grove Developments, part of The Eric Wright Group which is also headquartered in South Ribble.
It has been described as “a new and updated vision” for this key strategic employment site. The aim is to supply significant new local employment space for offices, research and development, industrial, storage and distribution uses.
Jennifer points to the impact the development of the Cuerden site would have. She says: “There’s a new planning application on Cuerden, so I won’t comment on the details of that.
“But as a strategic employment site, which has been allocated in the local plan for a number of years, it’s a fantastic opportunity to help develop the local economy.
“It’s a site which has unrivalled connectivity and access to a huge pool of skills and talent locally and it represents a great opportunity to grow the economy and to provide the facilities for businesses to start and grow here.”
Rachel Salter, strategic lead for future investment at South Ribble, adds: “It’s important that Lancashire as a whole understands what it wants to get from that site, because of its central location. So, it’s driving employment, creating a site that brings those skilled jobs in, which encourages people to live and work in Lancashire.”
Zowi believes the project could help deliver much-needed space for growing companies in the borough. She says: “When you look in terms of expansion, which we’ve done a lot of over the past few years, there’s not a lot of places where you can do that within South Ribble.
“So to have an alternative where you can actually spread your wings would be amazing for a lot of the companies that are actually growing. Let’s see if we can give them the space to move onwards and upwards.”
AMRC North West Leyland town living plans
MAKING THE CRICKET PITCH
Football may not have come home but in Lancashire cricket could be on its way. September last year saw a planning application submitted to create a new high-quality sports facility in the heart of the county.
Led by the county, the proposed development for Lancashire Cricket would bring together elite and community cricket on a site at Farington, near Leyland.
The aim is to establish a new year-round facility, which would host a number of men’s and women’s competitive matches each year, as an alternative to Emirates Old Trafford, whilst also providing a new training base for the red rose county’s men’s and women’s teams.
If planning is approved, the new facility would become a centre of excellence for women’s cricket in the North West, further encouraging the growth of the game in the region.
Andy Anson, who chairs Lancashire Cricket, said at the time of the planning submission: “With the amount of international and domestic cricket being held at Emirates Old Trafford, the need for a second ground has become pressing.
“It’s something that we’ve been working on for a while and the new development will provide fantastic elite facilities for our squads and can also be used for recreational cricket and the wider community.”
As with other major development proposals in South Ribble, the borough’s connectivity, in particular its motorway links, played a big part in the choice of the location.
Jennifer Clough, investment and skills manager at South Ribble, says: “When we ask businesses about the benefits of doing business here, connectivity is always near the top of the list.
“It just has outstanding connections, the motorway network, the West Coast Mainline, easy access to airports, the Port of Liverpool, the connectivity of this area is its huge, huge strength for business.”
There is some local opposition to the cricket plan. However, Michael Conlon, chairman of Conlon Construction, believes the proposed development is another positive move for South Ribble and the ground could be used for events other than sport, such as concerts. He says: “It’s got to be beneficial to the county.”
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