Julie Hesmondhalgh discusses new arts project in Accrington

The Accrington actress attended a meeting hosted by Amazing Accrington business leaders, which was held at St James' Church.

Julie, who starred as Hayley Cropper in the ITV Coronation Street between 1998 and 2014, spoke about an exciting new project which she is working on in Hyndburn, to engage young people with the arts.

Julie Hesmondhalgh with Amazing Accrington business leaders (Image: Amazing Accrington)

Julie was joined by other guest speakers including Ivor Lefton, Managing Director of Taskers of Accrington, and Kelly Groves, Chief Operating Officer at Sundown Solutions.

They followed an introduction from chair of Amazing Accrington, Murray Dawson, managing director of Scott Dawson Advertising and owner of Peter Scott Printers, who updated fellow business leaders about upcoming #AmazingAccrington events, as well as talking about the history of the church.

The meeting also included a light lunch, networking and a tour of the heritage of the church, which was founded on its current site in 1546.

Murray said: "It has been a real honour to host our latest business leaders meeting in the historic St James' Church where historic captains of industry have always sat.

“What a fantastic setting for local business leaders to get together and discuss ways in which we can work together to improve the borough and the exciting plans we have over the next few months.

"The church is due to have a £1.3million redevelopment."

Julie Hesmondhalgh with Amazing Accrington business leaders (Image: Amazing Accrington)Ivor Lefton, managing director of Taskers of Accrington, said: "At the meeting business leaders meeting, I got the chance to talk about our 127 year history in the borough, as well as how we are giving back to the community as a business, including our recent sponsorship of the 3G pitch at the Accrington Stanley Community Trust."

Kelly Groves, chief operating officer at Sundown Solutions, added: "Today I have spoken about Sundown's recent certification as Microsoft Expert MSps, and how businesses can implement a digital transformation through funding from Microsoft, which will help to accelerate efficiency in our area."

Julie said: "What an incredible and inspiring day we have had at the Amazing Accrington business leaders meeting, here at the beautiful St James' Church.

“I have had a great time speaking to Amazing Accrington business leaders about an exciting new project in Hyndburn, which will engage young people with the arts and their future career paths. Stay tuned for more on that!"

You can keep up to date with the latest news from Amazing Accrington on their website.