Town centre skills campus boost for Blackburn

Maple Grove Blackburn – a joint venture between Maple Grove Developments and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council – has submitted a planning application for a Skills & Cyber Campus.

The development has been earmarked for the former Blackburn Market site in Brown Street and is part of the £250M Blackburn Town Centre Masterplan.

The application seeks full permission for the first building, together with the public realm and new urban greenspace.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has successfully secured £20M of Levelling Up Funding towards the scheme and is in discussion with UCLAN for its training company, Training 2000 (T2000) to expand and re-locate to the development and occupy the first building.

Growth Director at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Simon Jones, said: “This is an opportunity for us to bring thousands of learners into our town centre every single year to enjoy state-of-the-art facilities.

“We’re already in talks with UCLAN to re-locate and expand their Training 2000 offer here, and what an opportunity this is.”

The masterplan is part of the Council’s £1bn vision for the future – delivering on its commitment to create a more prosperous borough where no-one is left behind.

David Taylor, Chairman of Training 2000, added: “The Skills and Cyber Campus represents a great opportunity for both UCLAN and T2000 to expand their offer in East Lancashire.

“Although discussions are at an early stage, they represent an exciting opportunity for Training 2000.”