Yahoo News New £700k 'honeypot' plan for Blackburn shopping street
Benches on Blackburn's main shopping street will be replaced or repaired as part of works to spruce up the retail thoroughfare - while the three main entrances to The Mall shopping centre will be given an environmental makeover. The improvements are part of a £737k transformation of King William Street in the town centre - which will take just 10 months to complete.
The aim of the project is to attract shoppers and visitors. Senior councillors will on Thursday be asked to approve a March 2025 deadline for the regeneration project. The work using a grant from the government’s High Street Accelerator Programme aims at revitalising the road and surrounding area. Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive board has also been recommended to approve the schedule of works for the scheme.
Key elements of the proposal are:
creating a more flexible, open and safe space;
more sustainable planting;
introduction of an architectural play feature;
greening of the three main entrances to The Mall to enhance visibility and encourage footfall;
repair or replacement of old planters, benches and removal of obsolete street clutter;
creative use of street furniture to better manage hostile vehicle risks and unauthorised parking;
creative lighting to provide a safer and more welcoming space in the evening;
improvements to pavement cafes;
new planting to link streets – New Market Street, Town Hall Street and Lord Street;
maintenance to existing large trees to ensure their future health;
a volunteer programme to encourage active engagement in the green space and to support maintenance, biodiversity, cleanliness, environmental education and wellbeing.
The proposed regeneration programme has been welcomed by Conservative group regeneration spokesman Cllr Paul Marrow and the leader of the borough’s 4Bwd group – which is now the main opposition party – Cllr Mustafa Desai. He said he hoped the project would make King William Street ‘a honeypot for residents, shoppers and visitors’.
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A report by the council’s growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood says: “A series of environmental improvements and initiatives to enhance the King William Street area will be developed and delivered over the next 10 months. The High Street Accelerator programme was launched by the Department of Levelling Up, Housingand Communities (DLUHC) in 2023.
“The pilot programme provided £237,000 of funding to 10 areas to test different activities aimed at reviving traditional high streets. Blackburn was selected as one of the 10 pilot projects. The King William Street High Street Accelerator Partnership, comprising of key stakeholders, was established in January 2024 to help advise the council on developing projects to address footfall, the loss of traditional retail, and improve the night-time economy.
“Each pilot project was offered the opportunity to apply for an additional £500,000 to address environmental issues and to deliver greening projects that would meet the changing needs of the high street. The partnership developed a proposal for the maximum £450,000 capital and £50,000 revenue funding to meet the funding criteria. This has now been approved by DLUHC.
“The level of funding is modest given the scale of challenges and opportunities, but the funding will complement and support delivery of a variety of other planned capital projects. Blackburn town centre already has a strong track record of delivering projects of this nature, and a good understanding of the challenges of King William Street, so it is very much the expectation that the project will provide positive outcomes.
“The council is expected to complete expenditure by end of March 2025. This is a tight deadline, however the majority of the expertise needed to deliver the project is existing within the council and any additional professional services needed have already been scoped and can be procured quickly. King William Street and its environment has an important part to play in the continued growth and vitality of the town centre and in particular in supporting an enhanced cultural and leisure offer.”
Cllr Marrow said: “We welcome this investment in Blackburn by the government and hope it will revitalise this key street and the surrounding town centre.” What do you think? Will the investment make a difference? Let us know in the comments below.
