Lord Square: Creating a capital

But what is the great plan for the rest of the town centre?

Reporter David Higgerson looks at how a series of schemes are progressing and assesses their chances of success

BLACKBURN is undergoing widespread change as councillors and business leaders strive to create the capital of East Lancashire, serving 500,000 people.

The plans include pulling in big name shops to rival other centres, creating a nightlife which draws people in from far and wide and making sure well-paid jobs are there to support the big step forward.

Some parts of the project are already in place. Church Street is being pedestrianised, to link the town centre with the area around the cathedral, to make the town centre 'bigger,' Blackburn's transport system has been improved with new £2 million bus facilities, installed in 1996, and an £6million revamp of the railway station by Railtrack, which is due to be completed soon.

A major leisure and retail centre is under construction in Audley, on the fringe of the new town centre, which is bounded by the new orbital traffic route.

Longer term, plans are being drawn up to see what can be redeveloped or brought into the town. Most of these plans have yet to leave the drawing board of the council and its developers, such as a student village, better night venues, an ethnic shopping centre and a improved market.

But pressure is also being placed on private landlords to sort out their sites, primarily Standard Life, which owns the shopping centre -- Lord Square remains the main bone of contention.

And to Ashley Whalley, executive member of regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, the revitalisation is a case of 'do or die.' Although the overall plans for regeneration are widely backed, opposition has been voiced about individual projects.

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Some traders claim the parallel works in Church Street and the new orbital route drove shoppers away. All agree, however, that Blackburn has to be improved. Church Street, at a cost of £2.5million, is being pedestrianised, filled with public art and pavement cafes. Coun Whalley said: "By pedestrianising Church Street, we will make access from the public transport system into the town centre much easier.

"It will create a user-friendly environment which some people might mock. We need to think along the lines of Manchester."

Traders have given a mixed view. John Vaughan, from Blackburn Record Exchange, claims trade has gone up since the closure, while Bob Turner, of electrical store Toplex in Penny Street, claims he is being forced to move because the extra traffic has clogged up the roads too much for his vehicles.

But the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Pavilions in Church Street -- transforming the three run-down buildings into a lavish restaurant to be run by Northcote chef Nigel Haworth -- is a perfect example of businesses getting behind Blackburn.

This, however, has hit a problem. It still needs to attract grants and may not reach fruition until 2003.

The project now needs £2million, not £1million, in grants. Mr Haworth said: "We believe Blackburn is going places. We may not be open until 2003 but we hope that by using our name more people will follow and create an exciting place."

Another group ploughing more cash into the town is Peel Holdings. They already own the Grimshaw Park shopping centre and Blackburn Ice Arena. They are spending £18million on developing land in the town centre.

Phase one includes a new Matalan clothing store and Staples stationery outlet, currently being built, phase two a leisure development of some shape, hopefully a cinema. The search is now on for an occupier for that site.

According to Peel Holdings this will create a total of 300 jobs when it is all completed.

At the time of the announcement of the scheme, Peel's Adam Higgins said the company was attracted to the borough in part by the regeneration proposals for Blackburn town centre.

He said the development would "complement the existing Peel retail park and it is hoped that this would help transform the Lower Audley Street area into a major regional shopping experience".

Mr Higgins added: "The Lower Audley site represented a major development opportunity. The council's Town Centre Action Plan coupled with other developments such as the railway station refurbishment and improvements to the road networks is part of the reason Peel is keen to invest in this borough."

Support for the regeneration vision has also come from Lord Square owners Standard Life, although they have so far refused to invest millions in upgrading the area.

Mike Hannigan, retail investment director at Standard Life, said: "The action plan could well pave the way to the redevelopment of Lord Square. We spent 18 months trying to find a viable solution for the square and there were none. The rent return wouldn't justify the expenditure.

"The council is determined to attract more people to the town and we welcome that. We talk to them regularly and play an active role in the town centre.

"More shoppers would lead to more interest from retailers and hopefully that could lead to a position where we can re-evaluate the Lord Square situation."

Coun Whalley added: "We had hoped Lord Square would be the catalyst for everything else. It will now have to be the other way round. In my opinion, it needs demolishing. We will have to shame them into getting something done."

But the rejuvenation doesn't end there -- and is based around three key aims.

Coun Whalley said: "The first is getting firms which bring added value to the town. These are well-paid jobs, the sort which bring people in from outside the area and encourage more spending in the town.

"That, in turn, should attract more higher-class shops to the town, such as big brand stores like GAP and Monsoon, which will probably open one store in the whole of East Lancashire.

"We need to make sure Blackburn is that place. For that, we need to make sure we have the right environment in the town centre, which is where the new traffic management schemes fit in."

Coun Whalley said: "We are now working with a firm of developers and architects to see what can be changed.

"The town is full of development opportunities. Things like 'Do firms really need to be based in the town centre?' and 'Can this building be used for something else?' have all been considered.

"Businesses in the town centre also need to look at what they are doing now. Could they be doing something better to attract more customers?"

Leisure is another key area of the action plan. As well as the desired new cinema, hopes are high that new nightclubs can be attracted to cater for a wider variety of people, along with new restaurants.

Existing buildings will hopefully, according to Coun Whalley, be used as flats for young people who want to feel the 'town centre vibe' all the time, along with a possible students quarter.

This will cater not just for students, of which Blackburn College now has a growing number, but for everyone who wants to lives close to evening entertainment. The town's heritage corridor -- which runs along King Street and into Higher Church Street to the Cathedral -- is one of Coun Whalley's priority areas for new facilities.

Around £200,000 is being spent on the Exchange Arcade in Fleming Square -- to house small shops -- which will hopefully kick off the scheme.

At the other side of the town centre, off Barbara Castle Way, there are embryonic plans to tap into Blackburn's rich cultural mix with a China Town-style area dedicated to promoting the Asian community. Coun Whalley said: "No other town has that and it would be a big draw. We don't even have an Asian clothing shop in the town centre any more. Again, something like this would draw shoppers."

Blackburn Market is also to be remarketed. "So many markets are dwindling in popularity in this country, yet abroad they go from strength to strength. We need to look at what they are doing and see if we can repeat it here. Theme days, a wider variety of stalls -- we need to make Blackburn Market a must."

But how does the council intend to push the scheme along? Along with continuing to search for government finance -- which has helped pay for the orbital route and Church Street -- council bosses are also pursuing new firms all the time. They are looking to Europe for interest in Britain.

Town centre manager Paul Isherwood travels to other shopping centres around the country to see what is attracting visitors, and to see if lessons can be learned in Blackburn.

Coun Whalley added: "We are identifying gaps in the market and filling them. We want to be different and popular. We don't want to be one of those centres which has all the same shops as the next.

"We need to create the same mentality here as in Leeds and Bristol -- that shopping elsewhere is not an option."

"Our location is a major factor for us. While places like Bolton suffer because of the Trafford Centre, people here face a 45-minute journey to get there. There is a psychological thing about a journey that long."

Ron O'Keefe, president of the Chamber of Trade for Blackburn and district, said: "We welcome all these regeneration plans but we are concerned about some parts of it. We think it is being done the wrong way round. The roadworks should have come later as the town expanded.

"We are also concerned about the lack of facilities for drivers. We need to attract shoppers from outside the area to come in by car and at the moment, we aren't doing that."

Coun Whalley added: "People need to get behind us and see us as the place where they can live, work and shop. This is the only chance we have."

In terms of thinking big, it would be hard to come across a council with larger thoughts.

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