Straw opens £30m office block in Blackburn

BLACKBURN’S One Cathedral Square has been formally opened by the town’s former MP and government minister Jack Straw.

The new office building in the heart of the new £80m Cathedral Quarter regeneration scheme provides 28,127sq ft of Grade A space above ground floor restaurant and leisure outlets.

Positioned between Blackburn railway station and the Cathedral, it provides a new thoroughfare into the town centre and the recently extended Mall Shopping Centre.

The event marked the completion of the £30m development by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Blackburn Cathedral, Maple Grove Developments, the Homes and Communities Agency and the European Regional Development Fund.

Designed by architects BDP, One Cathedral Square provides office space arranged over five floors of 5,800sq ft each, which are available to let at a rent of £15 per sq ft per annum exclusive.

Delivered by Maple Grove Developments and Blackburn with Darwen Council, the scheme also includes a new 60-bed Premier Inn Hotel, associated car parking, together with the new landscaped piazza, which in time will be host to numerous events running throughout the year.

The Council’s chief executive Harry Catherall said: “We have had significant interest in the office space from various firms wishing to upgrade their space into this brand new facility.

“Our partners have presented a most magnificent development around the Cathedral with this office designed to a specification not matched anywhere in Lancashire.”

In declaring the building open, the former Blackburn MP, Jack Straw, added: “This new development has transformed Blackburn, giving it the feel of a city. The vision of the Council and its various partners, who have been instrumental in delivering this, should be applauded.”

Agents for the office space are Knight Frankand Trevor Dawson. Agents for the restaurant and leisure units are Bradys  and Cushman & Wakefield.