Burnley Council funds centre improvements

BURNLEY Council’s executive has approved a £375,000 spend on improvements to the town centre.

Councillors agreed to allocate cash from the capital budget for the replacement of street furniture, repaving work and renewing flower planters. It is also considering using amenity lighting to accentuate buildings, such as the lighting used to light up the viaducy by the UCLAN/Burnley College campus.

The executive also heard from a town centre working group which called for an amitious approach in revamping the town centre, including looking at radical options to breathe new life into its markets. It encouraged traders to put forward their own ideas for improvements that could be matched by private sector funds.

The working group said that Burnley’s vacant shop rate was comparable to the national average, but recommended the creation of a map setting out ownership of all units and where its voids are.

A confidential briefing was also provided on potential development at Curzon st, where Henry Boot Developments recently announced that it was abandoning its £40m shopping centre scheme.

The council’s head of facilities management discussed the development of Curzon St “and how it was expected to support the viability of the markets”.

Both Burnley and Padiham town centres have also applied for £100,000 of funding to become a Portas Pilot town, following the recent review of UK high streets by Mary Portas.

Burnley Council’s engineering manager Winston Robinson said: “Improvements to the pedestrianised areas of the town centre will help ensure it is modern and attractive, but more importantly it will help to boost both the day time and night time economies of the town.”