It is an area world-famous author Bill Bryson said could be ‘transformed into wonderful new businesses and leisure facilities’, that HRH the Prince of Wales said could be ‘the real making of Burnley’, and that Barnfield Investment Properties have said will be a £100 million mixed use development if the Regional Growth Fund bid is approved.
Covering 3.9 hectares and straddling the Leeds to Liverpool canal in Burnley town centre, the development for leisure, office and educational uses would generate £24 million GVA and create approximately 1000 private sector jobs. A leisure pre-let has already been achieved for the site.
Squaring the Triangle…
The proximity of Weavers’ Triangle to Burnley’s town centre and motorways is surpassed in significance by its proximity to the proposed station to receive a direct rail link toManchester.
With inadequate scope for parking within the Weavers’ Triangle, the rail connection to Manchester provides significant environmental benefits, but more fundamentally, it will bring it and the surrounding area into Manchester’s commercial and residential property markets raising land values and scheme viability.
“Even though Burnley is not far in terms of distance from Manchester, the train journey usually takes over one hour and involves at least one interchange. Given Burnley’s non-dynamic relationship with Manchester it has not attracted firms and labour in spite of rising wages, office space and housing costs in Manchester.”
Centre for Cities: City Links. March 2008
New mutual dependencies…
The mutual dependencies which existed through the necessity to exchange and trade in goods like coal, raw cotton, cotton cloth and limestone, and the subsequent growth of those first industrialised towns and cities, no longer exists, but there are new mutual dependencies.
Manchester needs to tap into economies like Burnley to grow: it needs the affordable housing offer; the quality of life offer; the pool of skilled labour – as highlighted in the Manchester Independent Economic Review. Burnley needs Manchester to grow: it needs access to higher paid employment, convergence of residential and commercial property markets; a commutable ‘city offer’.
