Burnley Bondholders and Burnley Council’s Chief Executive, Pam Smith, were delighted to welcome Sir Howard Bernstein to Burnley this morning (Wednesday 20th April) to an event on the Northern Powerhouse, hosted at Burnley’s stunning Towneley Hall.
Sir Howard, Chief Executive of Manchester, renowned for transforming Manchester’s fortunes and development in the city, addressed the Burnley Bondholders on the opportunities of the Northern Powerhouse and how Burnley can benefit.
Sir Howard commended Burnley on the fantastic partnership between the businesses and Burnley Council and their joint working to grow Burnley’s economy and attract inward investment.
His key message for Burnley was to focus on its strengths and drive our high value sectors, including our advanced engineering, aerospace, digital and creative industries.
He was hugely impressed by the businesses we have here in Burnley that stand at the forefront of innovation.
Sir Howard: said: “I urge businesses to become advocates of the Northern Powerhouse Strategy and to get behind its aim of strengthening the northern economies.
Adding: “Businesses need to market themselves worldwide and focus on globally distinctive assets. Transport is key to forging new links and attracting investment, and Burnley should focus on its world class aerospace, digital, innovation and freight and distribution strengths.”
“Connecting people to jobs and businesses to markets, and improving productivity is hugely important in creating higher value sectors, and automation is key to improving productivity.”
Burnley Council’s chief executive, Pam Smith, briefed Sir Howard and the Bondholders on Burnley’s latest developments and new inward investors to the area. Highlighting the recent Lancashire LEP Funding of £1.7 million to start work on Burnley’s latest enterprise park, ‘Vision Park’, in Burnley’s Knowledge Quarter on Princess Way. Vision Park will be marketed to attract advanced engineering, digital and knowledge based businesses to Burnley, making the most of UCLan’s research and innovation capabilities.
Pam said: “Going forward we will be working with our colleagues across Lancashire to have an increased and shared voice at the government table when making investment decisions that are right for Burnley and Lancashire.
“We know we are a place that people want to relocate to, and in terms of continuing growth in the borough we’ve got Burnley Bridge, a 70 acre site, where Birchall’s Food Services will soon be joined by the European distribution hub for electronics firm Exertis, bringing 760 jobs to the borough. Their 543,620 sq. ft. distribution centre will be completed later this year, as a company with an annual turnover of £2.3billion Exertis will be one of the biggest companies in the borough.
“Innovation Drive is almost full, which is a great success story for Burnley, transforming the former Michelin site into a thriving supply park, which is linked to some of the world’s biggest brands, with companies on Innovation Drive making parts for global names including Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Airbus and many more.”
“Burnley’s new direct rail link to Manchester has opened up huge opportunities for Burnley to feed into the Northern Powerhouse vision, and with Sir Howard reinforcing transport links as key to the success of the Northern Powerhouse we are ready to embrace the opportunities it brings.”