A scheme focussing on a newly earmarked ‘Cathedral Quarter’ in the Lancashire town has been designed with a series of mixed-use developments in mind and councillors look set to give the plans their seal of approval.
The initiative, which will considerably increase Blackburn’s office stock, was sketched out several years ago, but plans had to be scaled back due to funding constraints and a generally more challenging economic environment.
According to the Lancashire Telegraph, Maple Grove Developments has been lined up to carry out the relevant building work, with a hotel, restaurant, and retail outlets all part of the plans.
Blackburn Council’s development manager, Clare Turner, told the local paper: “The Cathedral Quarter development is the next transformational step in the delivery of an ambitious 15-year town centre strategy, driving up the competitiveness of Blackburn Town Centre against neighbouring towns and cities and substantially raising our regional profile to both investors and visitors alike.”
Part of the redevelopment effort will involve work on the cathedral giving the more comprehensive project its name. The dean of Blackburn Cathedral is among those who have given the scheme his backing, telling the Lancashire Telegraph he believes it will go a long way towards rejuvenating the local town centre.
Blackburn is among the largest towns in Lancashire, with just over 100,000 people. It lies less than 30 miles from central Manchester, the largest and most populous city in the region.
If given the official go-ahead, the development of the new offices and other commercial sites in Blackburn’s Cathedral Quarter is expected to be completed before the end of 2014.
Editor’s notes: One Cathedral Square in Blackburn Cathedral Quarter was completed and launched in November 2015.
The £80 million regeneration scheme delivered the new office building, which offered 28,127 sqft of Grade A office space above ground floor restaurant and leisure units.
In May 2017, One Cathedral Square was named the best commercial property in the North West at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards. In September 2018, a second £8 million office block development was announced to complete Blackburn’s Cathedral Square.
At the time, One Cathedral Square was fully let to tenants, including rail company Northern, GovNet Communications, Organic Insurance, Capita and recruitment firm Cummins Mellor.