Burnley’s Economic Strategy

Burnley’s 2 Burnley’s Future 2007-2017:

Burnley’s Economic Strategy

Introduction 4

Burnley - Where are we now? 6

Vision 14

Strategic Objectives 16

Delivering the Vision 25

3 1 Introduction

The Burnley Vision Board, together with the Burnley Action Partnership, has developed this Burnley Economic Vision Strategy.The Burnley Vision Board was established in 2005 and comprises of key business and civic leaders. Its purpose is to drive the development of a vision for the economic future of Burnley and the delivery of key transformational projects and physical infrastructure. The board plays a strategic role, advising key bodies and interested parties on their policies and proposals for the future economic development of Burnley, acting as a business voice, brokering and unlocking funding opportunities and generating confidence in Burnley and its surrounds as a place to invest, work and live. The Burnley Action Partnership (BAP) brings together representatives from the public, voluntary and private sectors to develop an overall vision for Burnley encompassing a wide range of economic, social and cultural issues.This is brought together in its Community Strategy – “Burnley’s Future”. Our Economic Vision Strategy will support Burnley Action Partnership’s Community Strategy and clearly articulates Burnley’s role in the sub region. The strategy has been based on an extensive evidence base about the Pennine Lancashire1 Economy and on consultation with key business leaders. The strategy identifies key strategic projects and activities required to stimulate growth in employment and wealth creation opportunities. The strategy will provide the public sector with a framework for future investment decisions and provide confidence to the private sector that Burnley is a good place to do business.

Alastair Procter, Chair, Burnley Vision Board

1 Pennine Lancashire – this incorporates the East Lancashire boroughs of Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale. 4 The Lancashire Digital Technology Centre

5 2 Burnley – Where are we now? The Borough of Burnley is located in the Pennines of East Lancashire. Burnley sits within the Central Lancashire City Region (CLCR) which stretches from Blackpool, in the West through Preston and eastwards to Blackburn and Burnley. Wealth generation in Central Lancashire is driven by this network of urban centres. These urban centres provide a diverse range of business and employment opportunities surrounded by high value countryside. Within the CLCR, Burnley is an important source of economic activity and plays a key role in the advanced manufacturing sector that underpins the CLCR. Burnley is also located in close proximity to the major economic growth centres of Manchester and Leeds. The borough itself has a population of 89,541, although it provides an employment and service sector function for a much larger travel to work and housing market area incorporating the neighbouring borough of Pendle. Burnley is strongly linked economically to the neighbouring towns of Nelson and Colne. Together, they form a contiguous urban area with Burnley as the principal service centre. Evidence shows that there are strong flows in terms of travel to work, travel to shop and housing markets, with Burnley as a hub. Burnley’s travel to work area, incorporating neighbouring Pendle, has a total population of 177,000 people. The area represents a significant economic base with 67,000 jobs (36,000 in the Borough of Burnley) and 5,264 businesses. The area has good motorway access, a range of modern industrial units, a high performing further education College and is a centre of advanced manufacturing, set in high quality countryside – Pennine Lancashire. Burnley’s economy has historically been based on lower value manufacturing sectors and more recently lower value service industries – both signs of an economy that lacks dynamism. However, recent trends have been positive. There has been a growth in higher value service sector jobs and the higher value advanced manufacturing sector will continue to be profitable and make a significant contribution to the economy.

46 However, it would be wrong not to acknowledge the fact that Burnley, and much of Pennine Lancashire with which it is strongly linked, is not facing some major economic challenges, but it also has some unique opportunities and assets that this strategy seeks to exploit: • Burnley is a key service and employment centre in Pennine Lancashire and recent and proposed developments will enhance this role • The potential spin off benefits of the cluster of innovative advanced manufacturing businesses • The potential to create an alternative lifestyle offer based on canalside living, high quality new housing with easy access to countryside within 30 miles of Manchester and Leeds City Centre To make these assets work, there is a need to address three major challenges: • Developing skills for the knowledge economy • Developing new and more diverse range of enterprises • Improving connections from Burnley to major growth areas Each of these are explored in further detail in this document.

7 Director Vince Smith of Homeloan Management Limited, one of Burnley’s largest relocators and business expansions in recent years, outside their new £3.5 million purpose built office development.

8 KEY ASSETS A Key Employment and Service Centre in Pennine Lancashire Burnley is the second largest town in Pennine Lancashire and serves as a retail, employment and service hub for the boroughs of Burnley and Pendle and to a lesser extent other neighbouring areas including Ribble Valley. Burnley has a retail catchment spend of £306 million comparable with Blackburn’s £314million. In fact the two centres act quite independently with Burnley serving the Burnley, Pendle and to some extent Ribble Valley area, reflecting travel to work patterns2. Neighbouring Nelson and Colne provide a secondary retail function. Burnley town centre benefits from a high quality environment retaining its original street pattern and grand Victorian buildings. The town centre has a range of quality shops, is well represented by both national high street stores and independent traders and has a lively night time economy. The development of the Oval Shopping Centre will further consolidate its position alongside Blackburn in the Pennine Lancashire retail hierarchy. Burnley provides a service centre for the area and has seen considerable growth in service based employment over recent years. Its predominant service role in the travel to work area is evidenced by the higher share of service based jobs in Burnley compared with neighbouring Pendle - 72% and 59% respectively. Advanced Manufacturing Advanced manufacturing, encompassing firms in Aerospace, electronics, optical equipment and environmental technology3, is a key component of both the Lancashire and Burnley economy. Burnley and its wider travel to work area incorporating neighbouring Pendle, represent a significant cluster of advanced manufacturing businesses and jobs, particularly in the aerospace sector. The manufacturing sector as a whole provides fewer jobs than it used to and the share of manufacturing in total employment has fallen considerably as companies have switched from mass production to higher added value functions such as design and development. This trend is likely to continue and there will be further losses in lower value manufacturing sectors, such as textiles. Although numbers employed in the sector have declined, jobs in the advanced manufacturing sector are highly skilled and relatively well paid. As companies have moved up the value chain and as lower order manufacturing has declined, the trend has been towards higher skilled employment. These payments in terms of salaries flow back into other local service businesses and housing markets. More importantly, these businesses are consumers of a wide range of services and a source of innovation. As companies have downsized their staff they have increasingly outsourced many services, such as cleaning, IT, security, distribution and logistics and many of these jobs are now classified as service jobs, although they are dependent on the manufacturing sector. The future health and potential growth of the advanced manufacturing sector will underpin further growth and diversification in the service sector.

2Burnley Retail and Leisure Study 2005 - 2021 (Savills, 2005) 3Central Lancashire City Region Development Programme (2006) 9 English Heritage Commissioner and best selling author Bill Bryson gave his backing to multimillion pound plans to transform Burnley’s historic canalside area - the Weavers’ Triangle.

Quality of Place The future potential of smaller towns such as Burnley lies in their relationship with nearby areas of economic activity. Whilst it is important that Burnley retains its own economic and business base, it will need to orientate itself to provide a place to live and a place for leisure for people who work in nearby growth centres. To maintain its population levels and re-balance the housing markets, Burnley needs to attract a more mobile population who will live in the borough but work elsewhere. Quality of place attributes, for example housing offer, low crime levels, good schools, access to employment, high quality public space and access to the countryside are factors that drive peoples’ decisions in choosing a home. Burnley has many quality of place attributes to build upon. A report commissioned by Elevate East Lancashire4 identified Pennine Lancashire as a place to offer an alternative lifestyle for young professionals from Manchester. No where is this more apparent than in Burnley, and the adjoining market town of Padiham. There is potential to offer a high quality of life with canal side and market town living, in close proximity to countryside and major employment centres, but without the high costs and congestion associated with larger cities. The Leeds-Liverpool Canal as it runs through Burnley with its collection of historic buildings and space - collectively known as the Weavers’ Triangle – is a major asset of local and regional significance. The redevelopment of the area has the potential to create a whole new aspirational offer in terms of housing, leisure and cultural facilities, and business premises to rival larger towns in a unique historic environment. This unique asset should be a major pull for investors, cultural and creative businesses, visitors and a vibrant young population. Elevate East Lancashire, in partnership with Burnley Borough Council are investing millions of pounds and have secured private sector investment from builders – Gleeson and Keepmoat – to redevelop Burnley’s inner areas to provide a wider choice of quality homes. The nearby, market town of Padiham is undergoing its own regeneration programme. It offers a range of specialist shops, café culture, good housing, and easy access to the countryside. The significant redevelopment of local infrastructure will enhance the attractiveness of the area. For example, the creation of new high schools and a landmark further and higher education campus by 2010 will add greatly to what Burnley has to offer. The area has a varied cultural, leisure and visitor offer, including historic houses, theatres, annual events, a new state of the art leisure centre and access to the Pennine Lancashire countryside – a playground for outdoor and adrenalin sports enthusiasts. However, these are not images often associated with Burnley. There is a need to quickly invest in these assets and to create a new image that will meet the aspirations of the market.

4 10 Livesy-Wilson Associates “Dreaming Pennine Lancashire”, (2005) KEY CHALLENGES Skills and Labour Market The economic prosperity of an area depends on the availability of a competent workforce to attract potential investment and to assist existing businesses to move up the value chain. With the shift to the “knowledge” economy, comes an increase in demand for a more highly skilled workforce. There is a clear upward trend in the proportion of the working age population with higher level qualifications and the number of people with no qualifications is falling. In 2003, the number of people in Burnley holding Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications exceeded the national average. In contrast and despite positive trends, the number of people in Burnley qualified to NVQ 4 is still significantly below the national average although it is increasing. Historically, the structure of the local economy has not demanded higher skill levels and subsequently there has been little incentive for Burnley residents to make the transition to higher education. Those who qualify above NVQ3 are more likely to migrate or seek work outside of Burnley and Pennine Lancashire. On the other hand, where businesses have demand for higher level skills they report difficulties in attracting well qualified staff from outside of Lancashire due to Burnley’s poor image, perceptions of poor school level educational opportunities, and a lack of housing that appeals to professional groups. Based on current school attainment levels, developing a highly skilled labour force for the future will be challenging. The proportion of pupils aged 16 gaining a full level 2 qualification, i.e. 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, is below regional and national averages and the gap is widening although some of the shortfall is made good post 16. This is a basic pre-requisite to moving on to NVQ3 and 4 or equivalent qualifications. In order to move up the value chain and to attract higher value investors into the area, then the skills issue really needs to be addressed. Likewise, there is a need to create an environment and quality of life that attracts and retains a highly qualified workforce. As well as a below average skills base, a further negative pull on the Burnley economy is the large pool of workless people. The North West Development Agency estimates that the North West economy underperforms in terms of GVA output by £13bn, of which £3bn is due to more people than the national average not being in work5. People not participating in the work force will have a similar drag effect on the Burnley economy. There is a significant proportion of the Burnley population who lack basic skills that are relevant to employers’ needs or who have experienced significant periods of time out of the labour market. It is important that interventions are in place to enable these people to take advantage of new opportunities in Burnley and elsewhere in the region.

5 Regional Economic Strategy, NWDA (2006) 11 Economic Diversity A diverse business base drives a competitive economy. Although the advanced manufacturing sector is important to Burnley, over-reliance on one sector, which operates in a highly volatile global market, is in fact a potential weakness. There is a need to diversify the local economy, particularly into higher value services. Employment in the service sector grew by 9.5% over the period 1998 - 2004, equating to approximately 2,000 more jobs split equally between the public and private sector. The majority of the growth in jobs in the private service economy in this period occurred in higher value service sector jobs. An additional 700 jobs have been created in the financial intermediation, real estate and business activities sector over this same period, fuelled by the growth in employment in legal activities, accountancy, consultancy and advertising6. However, despite this recent growth Burnley is still under represented in these sectors especially in IT and business services. Given its geographical location and skills base, it is unlikely that Burnley can compete with other major towns and cities in the region for large scale inward investment in high value services. Therefore growing and encouraging entrepreneurship locally is important in diversifying the economy. Levels of self employment provide an indication of the entrepreneurial culture in an area. In 2005 7.4% of the economically active population in Burnley were self-employed, compared with 7.9% in the North West and 9.2% in Great Britain. Burnley has a very low level of business formations per head. In 2005, Burnley saw 39 new businesses formed per 10,000 adults of working age, compared with 49/10,000 in Great Britain and 43/10,000 in the North West. Business density (the number of businesses per 10,000 adults of working age) is another useful measure of the levels of entrepreneurship within an area. The number of businesses in an area relative to the size of population indicates the ability of the local economy to generate wealth and to provide employment opportunities. Business density in Burnley lags far behind the national and regional business density. Based on stocks of VAT registered businesses at the end of 2005, Burnley is approximately 820 VAT registered businesses short of national levels7.

6 Annual Business Inquiry 2004 7 Derived from VAT Registrations and Deregistrations 2005, NOMIS

AMS Neve, Burnley

12 Connectivity It is important that smaller regional towns are well connected to larger centres of economic activity. In many respects, Burnley is well situated between Manchester, Leeds and Preston. However, it is poorly connected to these major growth centres. This has a threefold impact. Firstly, on the employment opportunities for existing residents and secondly, it deters people from making Burnley their home with a subsequent impact on the housing market. Thirdly, it limits the opportunities for business networks and the subsequent improvements in competitiveness and innovations8. By road Burnley is connected to the major road networks via the M65. This links to the West to the M6/M61 at Preston. Based on a study of the manufacturing sector9 the M65 and M6 (north and south) are important to businesses in Burnley and East Lancshire. Southwards to Manchester the connection is via the A56(T)/M66 which does become congested at peak travel times. Road connections are weak to the East into the Leeds City Region. Within the North West, Manchester is a fast growing economy. The A56(T)/M66 provides a road link, however, it is suffering from increased congestion at peak journey times with a significant impact on commuters travelling by car and the X43 bus service. Rail links to Manchester are notably poor and there is no direct train. Journeys involve a change at either Hebden Bridge or, Blackburn for Manchester Victoria or Preston for Piccadilly. The quickest route via Hebden Bridge takes 1hr 10 minutes for a 30 mile journey. To the West, Preston and Blackburn have seen considerable growth in jobs over recent years but there is a lack of an integrated commuter network. Much of the growth in terms of jobs and future development sites are on the periphery of these towns, for example the regional development sites at Whitebirk and the Ordnance site at Chorley are poorly served by public transport. The Blackpool – York line provides an hourly service to Leeds City Region taking just over an hour. However, the faster service is let down by poor rolling stock and journey frequency. The town’s two main rail stations – Burnley Manchester Road on the Blackpool – Yorkshire Line and Burnley Central on the Colne line – are both very poor in both their physical environment and passenger services. They hardly fit Burnley’s role as a service centre for a significant part of Pennine Lancashire.

8 Enabling Cities in the Knowledge Economy, DCLG 2006 9 The Silicon Driven Valley, ELSERG 2005 13

3 Vision

The Community Plan sets out an overall Vision for Burnley: “ to achieve a Burnley we can all be proud of. A Burnley that will become a place with a diverse and united community, a modern economy, a healthy, safe and clean environment and quality services which work together for the good of the public”. The purpose of this strategy is to clearly articulate the Economic Vision for Burnley that will contribute to the above. It is our Vision that by 2017 Burnley will have • A diverse business base with entrepreneurial culture and a reputation as a place to do business • Firmly established itself as a key retail and service centre in Pennine Lancashire • Established itself as a centre of education excellence with a highly skilled and qualified workforce that meets the demands of the knowledge economy and advanced manufacturing sector • Be known as an alternative destination for living, working and leisure, based on affordable high quality housing and workspace with a wide leisure and cultural offer • A reputation as a regionally significant centre of advanced manufacturing based around the existing cluster of businesses, a new Advanced Manufacturing Park and an Institute of Advanced Manufacturing

14 The St Peter’s Health & Leisure Centre

15 4 Strategic Objectives

The Vision outlined in Section 3 will be achieved through 5 strategic objectives: • Developing an Entrepreneurial Culture • Supporting and promoting the advanced manufacturing cluster • Creating a modern image and a first class business environment • Securing a highly skilled workforce to underpin the knowledge economy • Improving connectivity to key growth centres The following section describes for each strategic objective where we want to be by 2017 and in broad terms, the key interventions required to achieve this. The key areas for intervention have been developed in consultation with a number of business led focus groups established by the Vision Board to articulate issues that matter to local businesses, to help the Vision Board understand the issues facing businesses and to develop interventions from a private sector perspective.

16 Developing an Entrepreneurial Culture Why Entrepreneurship Matters? Focusing on developing entrepreneurial skills and attitudes will help both existing businesses across all sectors to move up the value chain and also develop new sectors securing an increase in the number and diversity of businesses. Where do we want to be? • Have a stronger entrepreneurial culture, higher aspirations and a pool of people with exposure to business skills, business culture and business processes • To close the gap between business density in Burnley and the rest of the country • Have schools, colleges and education institutions where entrepreneurship is at the heart of their curriculum • Have a reputation as an entrepreneurial town with good business start up and survival rates • Have a diverse business base with an increase in the number of high value service businesses • To be home to entrepreneurial businesses with a national and global reach • To have an infrastructure of sites, premises and support for potential entrepreneurs

17 What will we do? Promoting Enterprise – Burnley has in place an excellent business support structure through a range of agencies. However, start up rates are still relatively low due to low exposure to enterprise in the local population and a lack of aspiration. Current promotion work tends to be around promoting individual agencies and programmes rather than enterprise per sé. There is a need for a high profile campaign run jointly by key business support agencies to raise the profile of enterprise as a real option using real success stories of local entrepreneurs. Young Entrepreneurs – Building on Burnley’s expanding role as an education centre, there is an opportunity to target entrepreneurship programmes at young people still in full time education. An innovative, inspirational and business led enterprise programme will be developed targeting young people, particularly 14 – 19 year olds in Burnley’s schools, sixth form and further education College. Business Support Infrastructure – Although there is a range of support available for new and existing businesses from both local, regional and national agencies, it is often confusing and difficult for businesses to access the right support at the right time. There is a need for a one stop shop approach to business support. From here businesses need to be able to access a range of support throughout the enterprise cycle including pre-start information and confidence building, start up advice, mentoring for new and existing businesses, finance and specialist support for high growth start ups and specialist sectors. Much of this support is already available and it is important that existing and potential Burnley businesses have access to this support in a timely and appropriate manner. There is also a wealth of expertise and resource amongst the existing business community that could be harnessed to add value to existing programmes. Business Premises – there is a need to provide a range of quality business premises for new enterprises and enterprise support. The Lancashire Digital Technology Centre has been highly successful in attracting new high growth enterprises using digital technologies. A second phase will consolidate this role. A new Enterprise Park will be developed to include a range of incubator and move on units aimed at new and growing knowledge based enterprises with close links to a new University Centre and College Campus. The Weavers’ Triangle will provide a high quality business environment appealing to the creative and media enterprises. The redevelopment of some of Burnley’s inner neighbourhoods, notably South West Burnley and Daneshouse, will create further opportunities to develop new business premises and to rationalise and improve some older industrial areas. University Centre – Higher Education institutions play an important role in driving innovation and enterprise and it is important that the potential of the University Centre to support entrepreneurship is maximised. The University Centre will be closely linked to the adjoining Enterprise Park. The presence of UCLAN in Burnley provides new opportunities for a range of learning and knowledge transfer activities to support new and existing enterprises.

18 Supporting and Promoting the Advanced Manufacturing Cluster Why Advanced Manufacturing Matters? Every manufacturing job in Lancashire carries with it at least another job. The sector can play a key role in stimulating the local service economy, especially in higher value services that are currently lacking in Burnley. Innovation in firms and sectors is a critical driver in competitiveness and the advanced manufacturing sector is a key source of innovation and will continue to contribute significantly to the economy in terms of GVA. Where do we want to be? • The manufacturing sector has an image that is innovative, high tech and making a significant contribution to the economy, is an attractive career option and is taken seriously by policy makers and investors • The sector has moved from mass production to being a producer of innovative ideas, designs and processes and high value customised products • There are higher levels of investment in research and development • The area is a centre of excellence in advanced manufacturing supported by a high profile higher education Institute What will we do? Raise the image of the Manufacturing sector – there is a need to raise the profile of the advanced manufacturing sector amongst school children, graduates, investors and policy makers, as an innovative and highly skilled sector. Institute of Advanced Manufacturing – the future of manufacturing lies in the ability of the sector to add value through knowledge. The proposed University Centre in Burnley will provide a range of courses, expertise in research and innovation to support the advanced manufacturing sector to move up the supply chain. In the longer term it is proposed to develop an Institue of Advanced Manufacturing in Burnley. Sites and Premises – as the nature of the manufacturing sector changes, so to will its demands for premises, in terms of both size, functionality and quality. The former Michelin factory site provides an opportunity to develop an Advanced Manufacturing Park providing a range of high quality premises for the sector with strong links to the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing. There is also a need to secure a supply of sites for the sector within a pro- active planning framework. Advanced Manufacturing Skills – as the sector shifts to higher value added activity, the sector wil require higher level skills. Young people are increasingly either not attracted to the sector or have the right skills and attributes. The sector has identified the need for closer working with local educational establishments on curriculum development, and raising skills and aspirations. The Building Schools for the Future programme and new College and University Campus offer an opportunity to establish processes for businesses in the sector to work in partnership with education providers to inspire young people that manufacturing is a real career option.

19 Artists impression of proposed Burnley College campus 20 Securing a highly skilled workforce to underpin the knowledge economy Why do Skills Matter? The economic prosperity of an area depends on the availability of a competent workforce to attract potential investment and respond to changes in the economy. In the future, businesses whether they be in manufacturing or service sectors will demand a highly qualified workforce. Where do we want to be? • Have a highly skilled and well qualified population reflecting the needs of the knowledge economy • Be a centre for Further and Higher Education in Pennine Lancashire • Have a workforce that is adaptable and flexible • Be able to attract and retain a skilled workforce • Have more people in work contributing to the local economy What will we do? Raising Attainment – an ambitious programme aimed at raising educational attainment in Burnley is already underway. Over the next five years a £230 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme will be invested in five new secondary schools and a sixth form centre. The scheme aims to raise educational attainment of the existing population, particularly young people from inner neighbourhoods. Education and Business Partnerships – BSF and the new college development provides an opportunity to create new partnerships between schools, colleges and local businesses aimed at increasing business involvement in curriculum development, delivering a curriculum that responds to the needs of employers and raising aspirations of young people. New College and University Campus – a new campus at the cost of some £70 million will provide a sixth form centre, a skills and adult centre and a University centre. The campus will help to improve employability specifically increasing the numbers of people with levels 3 and 4 and will provide programmes focused on the need of local employment sectors. Supporting Workforce Development - to remain competitive it is important that businesses continue to invest in training their workforce. The cost of this is a particular issue for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. New changes to funding work place training will significantly help SME’s. More people in work – it is important that a large number of people currently excluded from the labour market are able to access new opportunities both in Burnley and further afield. A strategy will be put in place to assist people to gain confidence and skills to access new employment opportunities.

21 Creating a modern image and a first class business environment Why is image and place important? Image and quality of place is a key driver in decisions made by businesses, investors and individuals. A poor image deters investors, dampens aspirations and leads to a downward spiral of decline. Burnley needs to shed its image as an industrial town and define its new role in the region based on the demands of potential residents and businesses. The borough needs significant investment in the physical environment, backed up by strong leadership and a willingness to make things happen – this is Place Making. Together they will help to stabilise the borough’s population, bring new jobs in the service sector and firmly establish Burnley as a sub-regional centre. Where do we want to be? • Have firmly established our position as a thriving retail and business centre for the wider Pennine Lancashire area • Be a town synonymous with a high quality of life and a good place to live • Be known as a place that is open to business • Have a revitalised housing market with a range of housing types • Reversed the decline in the historic fabric of the town, supported by new well designed developments • Secured our position as a visitor destination based on outdoor leisure, adrenalin sports, the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and industrial heritage

Iconic public art – The Singing Ringing Tree

22 What will we do? Gateways – The town’s gateways create a first impression for visitors, investors and residents and it is important that they reflect the towns’ future aspirations. There is a need to improve the physical fabric of the arterial routes and circular routes including; Colne Road, Accrington Road, Princess Way, Yorkshire Street, Active Way, Queen’s Lancashire Way and Westgate; with a programme of face lifting, public realm and streetscape works, traffic management measures where appropriate and finding new uses for redundant sites and buildings. Town Centre Development – the Town Centre Area Action Plan (AAP) sets out a 10 to 15 year vision for the town centre including a diverse retail and cultural offer, and a new business and civic quarter linked by high quality public realm. As well as securing the Oval Development there is a need to consolidate the town’s independent retail sector to differentiate Burnley from its competitors. An improved retail offer needs to be supported by a range of other leisure uses, particularly restaurants and café’s to make Burnley a destination. The AAP provides a pro-active statutory planning framework to give confidence to investors and existing businesses, and secure funding for key sites and developments. Weavers’ Triangle – the Weavers’ Triangle provides Burnley with a unique opportunity to develop a high quality canal side living and working environment adjacent to the town centre. The new office and business space will provide a hub for cultural and creative industries making a significant contribution to both the image of the area and the diversity of the economy. The area will also provide a range of new cultural facilities including restaurants, galleries and outdoor plazas. The development will also include a range of residential properties improving the borough’s appeal to the young professional market. Fashion Tower – located in the Weavers’ Triangle this will be an iconic building and a key transformational project for the whole of Pennine Lancashire providing a unique visitor attraction and incubator for entrepreneurs in the fashion design sector. Quality Office Development – Burnley currently lacks a supply of good quality office development to secure and retain higher value service sector investment. The Westgate site provides an opportunity to develop a prestigious office development, on a canal side location, with easy access to both the town centre and the M65. Similarly there are a number of sites in the town centre available for high quality office developments aimed at both public and private sector tenants. Quality Housing Offer – Burnley itself currently lacks a range of quality housing, particularly executive housing demanded by higher qualified professionals, although the wider housing market, including Pendle, has a much wider offer. Careful use of Housing Market Renewal monies, private sector investment and positive planning policies will secure a wider choice of housing to suit the needs of the existing and potential future population. Developing the Visitor Economy –The visitor economy contributes to approximately £100m per annum to the local economy and employment in the sector grew by 8.3% between 2002 and 2004. As part of Pennine Lancashire, Burnley has a high quality visitor offer, especially around outdoor sports, in close proximity to major centres of population. A Visitor Economy Strategy is already in place. It aims to develop the product , ensure that existing visitors enjoy their stay and come again, and develop new markets. Iconic public art – The Singing Ringing Tree A New Burnley Brand – Burnley has already seen many improvements over recent years. This strategy sets out a range of other developments that will transform Burnley. A holistic marketing plan to launch a new lifestyle brand targeting new audiences – Burnley’s future visitors and residents – will be developed. 23 Connectivity Why is Connectivity Important? Like quality of life, connectivity is a key determinant in the location decisions of both businesses and individuals. To be successful a place needs to be well connected to enable the flow of people, goods and ideas. All successful places are well connected internally and externally. Where do we want to be? • Have a fast, efficient, direct and modern commuter rail service to Manchester, Blackburn, Preston and Leeds • Have fast efficient road links to the national motorway network, key growth centres, ports and airports • Have rail stations that reflect the size and importance of Burnley • Have congestion free internal connections with a good public transport infrastructure What will we do? Direct Rail Service to Manchester – re-opening the Todmorden Curve, a 500m stretch of track west of Todmorden, would enable a quicker, direct service from Burnley to Manchester Victoria. This will involve developing a business case and pursuing an active lobbying campaign with government and regional transport authorities to re-instate the track. An alternative but slightly longer direct route via Blackburn will also be explored. Improved Roses Link – improving the Blackpool–York service in terms of train frequency, journey times and train quality will improve access from Burnley to employment opportunities in Blackburn and Preston to the West and Leeds in the East. Redevelop Burnley’s Key Rail Stations – this will involve significant investment in both Manchester Road and Central Stations so that they are modern, welcoming, provide an improved range of passenger facilities and linked to the bus station, town centre and college campus by a circular bus service and improved pedestrian routes. Road Networks – the longer term competitiveness of Burnley will depend on the continued effectiveness of the motorway network in the Northwest and particularly on the capacity of the M65. Links to the East are particularly poor and although an extension of the M65 is unlikely, we will work with sub regional partners to secure other improvements to the eastbound road network.

24 5 Delivering the Vision

The very nature of Burnley’s situation requires an ambitious strategy – tweaking the edges is not enough – and delivering such ambition will not be easy. Delivering this vision will transform Burnley into a highly desirable place for investors, entrepreneurs, residents and visitors. It is the role of the Vision Board to provide dynamic leadership to ensure that this strategy is implemented. Delivery will require the commitment of the public and private sector to the future of Burnley. Major projects such as the St Peter’s Centre, the Digital Technology Centre, Elevate and the Singing Ringing Tree are evidence that Burnley partners can deliver truly inspirational schemes. The challenge is to deliver this on a huge and transformational scale. The Vision Board will lobby key national and regional agencies for funding and convince private sector investors, entrepreneurs and existing businesses that Burnley is worth investing in and make sure it happens. To assist in the delivery a more detailed prioritised Action Plan and Investment Strategy will be developed to sit alongside this Vision Strategy. It will detail the key transformational projects, already identified in this document, including targets, milestones, costs, funding and outputs. This will act as a lever for public sector funding and also to assist the Vision Board in measuring progress. The Vision Board have already established Focus Groups around each of the intervention areas to help to develop the Vision. These groups now need to take responsibility to ensure that projects are developed and implemented. Whilst the majority of schemes, at least initially, will be led by public sector partners, the business led focus groups will ensure that schemes address the needs of businesses and investors. The groups will report back to the Vision Board on a regular basis enabling it to measure progress in delivering the overall vision.

25 Measuring Progress A range of measures, set out below, have been devised to assist the Vision Board in measuring progress against the Vision and the separate intervention areas.

Indicator (Red text = RES outcome) Baseline Target Employment Rate10 70.5% 76% Firm Formation (measured by VAT Registration)11 39/10000 47/10000 No Qualifications12 19.1% 15% Graduate Qualifications (NVQ level 4)13 20.4% 28% Increase proportion of workforce in Managerial, Professional, Associate 50.7% 64% Professional and Technical Occupations, and Administrative, Secretarial and Skilled trades (SOC 1-3 and 4-5)14 Increase proportion of service jobs15 74.5% 82% Business Density16 331/10000 460/10000 (795 additional businesses) Worklessness17 12.7% 9% Visitor Spend18 £97m £105m(at 2004 prices) % of respondents rating train services (to/from) Burnley as excellent or good 34% 65%

10 Source: ONS, Labour Force Survey 2004/05 13 Labour Force Survey – four quarter Analysis, 2005 11 Source: NOMIS, VAT Registrations and averages, June 2005 – May 2005, Working 16 Source: NOMIS, VAT Registrations and Stock, 2004 Age people with NVQ Level 4 qualifications as Stock, 2004 12 ONS: Labour Force Survey – four quarter a % of all working age people. 17 DWP September 2006 averages, June 2005 – May 2005, Working 14Annual Population Survey (Apr 2004-Mar 18 STEAM (2004) indexed to remove inflation Age people with no qualifications as a % of all 2005) working age people. 15 ONS: Annual Business Inquiry Employee

26 27 Burnley’s Economic Strategy Burnley’s ��������

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