13 May 2009
Cash boost for Nelson town centre
The NWDA has granted £911,000 to Pendle Council for improvements
to Nelson town centre.
Funding will be targeted at improving paving surfaces plus new
lighting and street furniture in the Memorial Square and Market
Street areas near the Town Hall and library.
The improvements will complement previous NWDA investment at
office development Number One Market Street and The Ace Centre,
which houses a theatre/cinema, conference facilities and a creative
workspace.
Mark Hughes, Executive Director, Economic Development for the
NWDA, said: “Nelson town centre has seen significant improvements
in the last few years. This new funding aims to complement that
excellent work, and create an attractive local environment.
“Our investment aims to change perceptions of Nelson, encouraging
shoppers to visit and private sector investment to secure a
thriving sustainable future."
Memorial Square will be remodelled and will include a new war
memorial. The existing memorial will be relocated into a more
prominent position in Market Square.
Both Memorial Square and Market Street will be repaved using a
combination of natural stone setts and flags which have been
quarried in the UK. New street furniture, including benches,
lighting and trees, will be added to the remodelled area which will
be given a traditional street layout. An automated bollard system
will be installed to stop unauthorised vehicles driving on Market
Street.
Brian Cookson, Executive Director for Regeneration at Pendle
Council, said: “This is one of many exciting projects which will
really turn Nelson town centre around.
“We now have Number One Market Street, a new state-of-the-art bus
and rail interchange and the Arts, Culture and Enterprise (ACE)
Centre is set to open next month. These are all crucial pieces of
the jigsaw which will help to attract visitors to the area.”
These improvement works are set to start in June and finish in
October.
Councillor Allan Buck, who oversees Economic Development for
Pendle, said: “The quality of the local environment is crucial to
the image and atmosphere of Nelson town centre. We will do all we
can to encourage people to come back to the town to shop and locate
their businesses here. This will help residents to gain employment
as well as having good quality leisure and commercial
facilities.”
The Royal British Legion has welcomed the creation of a new war
memorial in the town centre.
George Adam, Chair of the Nelson and District British Legion,
said: “The new memorial will recognise the people of Nelson who
sacrificed their lives for their country. It will feature the names
of all 1,272 local people who died in the World Wars and other
conflicts. Nelson has never had such a memorial before and I’m very
pleased this has been included in the town centre
improvements.”
Ends
Editors’ Notes
The library will remain open as usual, and visitors to the Town
Hall can continue to use Booth Street car park as the work takes
place.
The Town Centre Masterplan was developed and launched by Pendle
Council in September 2006.
It sets out a series of projects aimed at transforming the town
centre, making it a more attractive place to shop, locate
businesses and live.
These include:
• developing a new Arts, Culture and Enterprise
Centre
• creating a new bus and rail interchange
• the recreation of a ‘High Street’ with traditional
character
• the redevelopment of vacant commercial and office premises,
bringing more people and trade for local shops, pubs, cafes and
restaurants.
The plan also looks at addressing the three basic elements that
underpin the health of town centres - attractions (shops,
businesses, facilities and leisure economy), accessibility (arrival
experience, car parking and linkages), and amenity (quality of
public spaces, maintenance and quality of design).
For further information please contact Sam Shale, Press Officer, on
01925 400264 or 07717 427872 or sam.shale@nwda.co.uk
For urgent out of hours press enquiries please call 01925
400259.
For further information and to view all press releases visit us
at www.nwda.co.uk/press
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the
economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is
responsible for:
• Supporting business growth and encouraging
investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and
communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life
Pendle Council press office contact : Alice Barlow, (01282)
661780, alice. barlow@pendle.gov.uk