Tim Webber, managing director of Barnfield and PEARL board member, says: “Without partnership working Northlight could never have happened.
“At the outset we had a vision. We ran a competition for architects who put together a fantastic proposal but it was never really going to work within our environment. So we had to work piecemeal.
“The apartments were a big leap of faith for all of us but we did it and it has created a community. The residents there are now beginning to engage and call themselves the ‘Northlighters’, which is fantastic. So, it’s done what we set out to achieve.”
However, Tim says the challenge of low values still remains when it comes to getting both commercial and residential developments in the borough off the drawing board.
He says: “We’ve got to try and raise values within the area because that’s what stops investment coming in. We’ve got to raise the bar.”
Rose Rouse, Pendle Council chief executive, talks about ‘the power of partnerships’ in delivering a bright future for the borough, describing the success of Northlight as “a brilliant beacon of what is possible”.
She points to the many “gems” that make up what she calls the borough’s ‘charm bracelet’. They range from its skilled business community to its countryside and its Asian heritage community.
She says: “We have some really strong assets as well as a young population. That is a good thing. That’s a really big strength that we can build on. I’m really excited about the future.
“We need to be proud of all these gems, these trinkets on the charm bracelet and really shout about them, because there are some really special things here.”
Nelson isn’t the only town in the borough that has regeneration aspirations. Colne’s newly-formed Heritage Quarter has seen work to renovate The Muni Theatre, Pendle Hippodrome and The Little Theatre, using £3.5m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
A further £3m of Levelling Up funding has been awarded to Colne Market Hall, which will be spent on a significant redevelopment, creating improved space for businesses and housing for town centre living.
Added to that, masterplans are being drawn up for Barnoldswick and Earby. The masterplans are long-term projects which will guide future regeneration over the next 10-15 years.
Each masterplan will create an individual vision for the town and local people on how to best transform what the town centres already offer.
Andrew Stephenson is the MP for Pendle and a government health minister. He believes the Nelson town deal and the long-term plans for the borough’s towns as opportunities to deliver “lasting change”.
He adds: “The borough has real expertise in particularly manufacturing which we need to strengthen and enhance.”
The MP believes there is another opportunity for some of the nuclear small reactor programme work to be based at Rolls-Royce in Barnoldswick.
Digital is another potential growth area for Pendle’s economy. He says: “National Cyber Force is coming to Samlesbury and that links perfectly with the digital skills Nelson and Colne College is delivering for young people in the borough.”
The MP also points to the borough’s leisure and hospitality offering. Jonathan Bowdin, marketing manager at Pendle Leisure Trust, agrees that it is important to have cultural and leisure offers are also part of an inward investment strategy.
He points to the Muni Theatre’s facelift as part of that and says: “We want to make as many people aware of our products as possible and try and make a product that people want to come and see.”
Jonathan also believes delivery is important. He says: “If we’re going to make a plan let’s go for it, let’s do it.”
Morgan Rothwell is director at D&M Creative, based in Barrowford. The creative agency has bought offices in Vantage Court and moved in earlier in the year.
He says: “What we see is an area that seems to be buoyant. It seems to have a really good feel about it. The people are very friendly. We’ve got some great clients that we love working with and they do great work.
“As I see it, we’re in a great area that is developing skills that we can hopefully ride the wave of. That’s the opportunity we saw when we invested in the area.”
The future for Pendle is looking very bright according to Phillip Spurr, Pendle Council’s director of place, who says: “We have a clear vision for the future with so many regeneration projects in the pipeline.
“With the amount of funding we have secured, we are already seeing some great schemes coming together which will allow us to tackle some of the challenges Pendle has.
“We have been awarded £25m to breathe new life into Nelson town centre through seven key projects – many of which are already coming into fruition.
“We plan to regenerate long-term vacant and under-used buildings – including our main shopping centre in Nelson; improve traffic flow and create better walking and cycling opportunities.
“Nelson is one of 75 towns across the country to receive endowment-style Long Term Town Plan funding of £20m over the next 10 years to invest in local people’s priorities.
“With this money, we will focus on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, creating more green spaces and cleaning up streets.
“In Colne, £6.5m of Levelling Up money is being spent on bringing The Little Theatre, The Muni Theatre and Pendle Hippodrome back to their former glory; and work has started on refurbishing Colne Market Hall, creating improved space for market traders, and above, nine existing apartments will be refurbished to provide modern living standards.
“Our ultimate goal is to make Pendle a better place to live, work and visit and we hope with these regeneration projects we are currently working on, it will be!”
Our ultimate goal is to make Pendle a
better place to live, work and visit and we hope with these regeneration projects we are currently working on, it will be!
Phillip Spurr is Pendle Borough Council’s director of place, with responsibilities spanning most of the council’s externally- focussed activities, including economic growth, planning, housing, environmental health, climate change and waste and recycling services.
Phillip has worked in local government in a variety of director roles since 2007, in authorities in Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and now Lancashire. Prior to his career in local government, Phillip worked for English Partnerships (the forerunner of Homes England) and for Yorkshire Forward, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Development Agency.
He joined the local authority in February 2023 with a brief to develop the many opportunities that exist within the borough and to build strong and sustainable links to business.
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