PROPERTY prices in East Lancashire with the exception perhaps of the Ribble Valley have lagged behind large parts of the rest of Britain for a long time.
As the South East and places like the city of Bristol soared ahead in the 1980s and 1990s the North/South divide became a chasm.
Now it seems that in many parts of East Lancashire house prices have begun rising faster than further south and there are signs that the gap is narrowing.
Today we hear that estimates for the amount of money to be raised by the sale of Blackburn Royal Infirmary before it closes in about a year's time have doubled to about £4million.
At the same time property speculators have paid £2million for 18 luxury apartments on a former garden centre site in Preston New Road, Blackburn before the first brick has even been laid.
Such happenings, which may be common enough in upcoming gentrified inner areas of cities like Manchester and Newcastle, are a new phenomenon to East Lancashire.
And a welcome one too.
For they are a sign that serious investors have done their homework and decided they have faith in the area's economic future - and that's good news for all of us.
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