Second bid put in for former Co-op site

Stannifer Developments has plans to demolish the supermarket in Curzon Street and build new retail units.

But the company faces stiff competition from a rival bid by Jobcentre Plus.

The organisations will now compete head to head for the land. Both see it as an integral part of long-term plans.

The government agency has earmarked the site for a hi-tech job centre and benefits office.

Joan Lee, district manager for East Lancashire, added: "From browsing through vacancies at the click of a button to an efficient appointments system and the rapport which our advisers build up with our clients, this new service will place the focus firmly on work."

The scheme is part of a £160million government overhaul of job centres across the country.

The leader of Burnley Borough Council, Stuart Caddy, who has been to see a similar scheme in Blackburn said: "It is a really good scheme with excellent facilities that the public have really warmed to.

"People can go in to these centres, look for a job, sort their benefits out and talk to specially trained staff at the same time.

"If the bid for the Co-op site is successful, we believe it will be even better than the one they have in Blackburn.

"We want it in Burnley. I know that the Department of Work and Pensions want to see on in Burnley and so do I."

Coun Caddy added that he did not have a preference between the bids and knew that Stannifer also had "exciting" plans.

If Stannifer's bid is successful, more retail units leading from the end of Curzon Street to the heart of Burnley's shopping centre will be built.

As well as the new units, Stannifer is considering landscaping the area around the nearby River Calder and using it as a feature for the new plans.

Stannifer, an international development and investment group based in Stratford-upon-Avon, South African investment company Corovest and Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking, jointly bought Curzon Street and Charter Walk retail centres last year.

Former owners, Great Portland Estates, decided to sell up after their board made a decision to concentrate on properties in London.

The Charter Walk shopping centre was originally opened in 1969 and currently has 92 shops, covering 43,570 square metres of retail space -- but Stannifer say that Burnley needs more.

If Jobcentre plus are given the green light, traditional 'job cards' outlining local vacancies will be replaced with touch-screen technology which will handle details of more than 400,000 jobs available throughout the country.

Advanced 'Job Point' terminals will be installed. They will allow individuals to search a vast national database of vacancies.

Last week Paul Blythe called on the council to back their bid for the land. He added that research into Burnley's shopping facilities had shown demand from many well known retailers and that demand had to be exploited.

Burnley MP Peter Pike said last week that his main concern is for the site to be developed and he is waiting until the future of the site is settled before making further comment.