14 August 2009

Brockholes site gets planning permission

Planning permission has been granted for the development on the Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Reserve near Preston in Lancashire. Building work is expected to start in October on the landmark floating visitors’ centre, designed by Adam Khan Architects.

The site will provide a fantastic self-financing regional environmental showcase, and has been designed to inspire and encourage people to visit the site to engage with the natural world.

The project is being developed as part of the Northwest Regional Development Agency and Forestry Commission's £59 million Newlands land regeneration programme, in partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust. The facilities will include a café, shop, gallery, education, and meeting rooms.
Anne Selby, Chief Executive of The Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said: "We are thrilled with the news that planning permission has been granted, and we can now make our vision a reality to develop Brockholes into a haven for both wildlife and people."

Brockholes will have a wealth of habitats extending over 106 hectares, including lakes, reed beds, flower-rich grassland and a connection to 66-hectare adjacent semi-natural ancient woodland.

Keith Jones, Regional Director of the Forestry Commission, said: ”Brockholes is an inspiring site, and the flagship project that will develop not only a high value wetland and woodland but a stunning visitor centre; together they will act as a beacon for Northwest environmental and economic excellence.  We are now looking forward to working with Lancashire Wildlife Trust to turn Brockholes into this fantastic local asset, an exciting visitor experience and a significant contribution to the natural economy of the Northwest.”

Richard Tracey, Head of Environmental Quality at the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) said:

“Brockholes will provide an important and distinctive visitor attraction for the region, influencing future investment for the area, with economic and social impacts felt at both a local and regional level.

“The NWDA recognises that Brockholes is a key site for the region and is pleased with the decision to grant full planning permission. With an increase in visitor and tourism facilities on site and the provision of well managed green space for local people it will enhance the positive perception of England’s Northwest as a whole.”

For more information contact:
Lindsey Poole, Marketing and Communications Manager, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.

Contact - lpoole@lancswt.org.uk , 01772 318 373

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Notes to editors:

Brockholes
Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Reserve lies adjacent to the M6 motorway on the east side of Junction 31 at Samlesbury near Preston. The site is bounded by the M6 motorway to the west, the River Ribble to the south and east and Boilton Wood to the north.  The former gravel extraction site, which is 106ha in size, forms the core Newlands investment area. An adjacent 66ha area of ancient semi-natural woodlands is being ‘twinned’ with the core project area. The whole site is strategically located in Central Lancashire close to the City of Preston, and at the heart of the Ribble Valley. Brockholes is also adjacent to an ethnically diverse residential area in the top 10 percentile of the National Index of Multiple Deprivation. 

Brockholes boasts impressive biodiversity and is already one of the finest sites for bird watching in the Northwest of England. Newlands development on Brockholes will create a gateway to Lancashire and the Northwest region, create a valuable tourism and recreation destination which is easily accessible by millions of people, establish a highly visible strategic asset using the sub-region’s natural economy as a unique selling point and enhance a location in the top 10% of the UK’s National Index of Multiple Deprivation and within an ERDF Objective 2 area. Brockholes will be also one of the key attractions in the new Ribble Coast and Wetlands Regional Park, which stretches down the tidal reaches of the River Ribble to the Fylde coast.

Newlands programme
www.newlandsproject.co.uk

Newlands stands for New Economic Environments via Woodlands.  Launched in the summer of 2003, Newlands is a unique £59 million scheme that is reclaiming large areas of derelict, underused and neglected (DUN) land across England's Northwest, transforming them into thriving, durable, community woodlands.  It is the 21st Century face of land regeneration: carefully planned; intelligence-led; delivering widespread public benefits; enhancing the environment; and delivered through partnerships, most crucially that between the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Forestry Commission. Commitment of funding for the 20-year scheme has been secured from the partnership that is supporting Newlands.

Using aerial photography, the National Land Use Database and/or Unitary Development Plans, the DUN (Derelict, Underused and Neglected land) Survey (which formed the basis for the selection of Newlands sites) found an astonishing 3,800 DUN sites of more than one hectare across the Northwest and of this amount, 1,600 were highlighted as a brownfield sites. The Public Benefit Recording System (PBRS) uses a range of social, economic and environmental factors from proximity to a transport corridor or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) to a sites location to schools. It has won widespread approval across wider government and has already been used to tackle a number of other regeneration or development challenges.

Community Woodlands are multi-purpose open spaces that can be easily accessed by the local community, and can include a series of small woodlands, footpaths, cycle and bridleways, wetland habitats and a wildflower meadow. Each site is designed in partnership with the local community to help improve and enhance the economic, environmental and social value of the local neighborhood to work towards a sustainable environment for everyone.