New Hyndburn MP Sarah Smith met with business and education leaders to find out more about Amazing Accrington.

The meeting at the North Lancs Training Group's offices at the Old Bakery aimed to introduce Ms Smith to delegates and hear about her plans for the future.

Ms Smith revealed she has recently been appointed a National Mission Champion for Opportunity, and Vice Chair of the Growth group.

Ms Smith, who took Hyndburn for Labour from Conservative incumbent Sara Britcliffe at the General Election, said: "I'm delighted to be here with all these brilliant business leaders from across Hyndburn and Haslingden. 

"There's been some great questions today and I'm really looking forward to working with them in the months and years to come to bring greater prosperity and economic growth to the area."
 
Managing director of NLTG, Gareth Lindsay, added: "We've been delighted today to host the Amazing Accrington business leaders event down here at our Old Bakery centre.

"It's been great to hear from Sarah Smith, our MP for the borough, about her plans for her tenure. 

"We look forward to working really closely with her over the coming years to get more people into further education and to help them get opportunities for rewarding careers here in Accrington."

Delegates heard from a range of speakers Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council Cllr Munsif Dad was also in attendance at the meeting. His Labour group took control of the borough at May's local elections.

Cllr Dad said: "It's great to hear from our local MP and to have the public and private sectors talking to each other and working together.

"We look forward to continuing our good relationships, and working together for the benefit of Hyndburn."

Councillors joined business leaders at the event

Cllr Kimberley Whitehead, portfolio holder for culture, heritage and arts, added: "It's really important that we have a strong relationship with business leaders and the Council, and Amazing Accrington is a great group to collaborate with.

"It's a fantastic platform to share ideas and plans for the future and how we can work together."
 
Murray Dawson, chair of Amazing Accrington, said: "I'm really proud that we can get the room full of like-minded people looking for the betterment of Hyndburn."

Amazing Accrington organises several events in the town, including the Soapbox Challenge, Accrington Food Festival, themed trails and more.