Blackburn’s 138,000 sq ft education campus tipped to pass planning test

Training 2000 would occupy the full 90,000 sq ft of one of the buildings proposed by the council’s development partner Maple Grove.

Both developments, totalling 138,000 sq ft, have been recommended for approval at this Thursday’s planning committee meeting.

Submitted to Blackburn with Darwen Council, the hybrid planning application is for the construction of two educational facilities on the Brown Street car park. The council-owned 3.7-acre site sits opposite Blackburn Bus Station.

Building One

Full consent is sought for building one and the creation of a public park.

Building one will rise to five storeys, with large windows forming a “predominantly transparent façade”, looking out to the park, according to the application.

It will have a total internal floorspace of almost 90,000 sq ft.

Roughly 710 sq ft will be allocated on the ground floor for the relocation of an existing café unit.

Building one will be occupied by Training 2000, one of the largest group training associations in the UK – which in 2017 began a partnership with the University of Central Lancashire.

Building Two

Outline permission is sought for the second building.

The smaller building two will have roughly 48,000 sq ft of gross internal floorspace – its uses are expected to complement building one.

The appearance and scale of the second building will be decided at the reserved matters stage of the application, although the design and access statement suggests it will “ensure a paired aesthetic to building one”.

The two buildings will face out onto a biodiverse park and an adjacent events space, establishing a landscaped public realm, the application states.

The application has also committed to improving connectivity in the town, through the provision of cycleways and the “maximising of open space”.

There will be 183 parking spaces to service the two buildings, 18 of these will be accessible.

The developments form a critical part of Blackburn Town Centre’s £250m investment, the largest of its kind regionally. Credit: via planning documents.

The development forms a critical part of Blackburn Town Centre’s £250m investment, the largest of its kind regionally and constitutes the first phase of the Blackburn Business Innovation District scheme.

The scheme has been backed by £20m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund.

To the site’s east, the land of the former Thwaites brewery is also part of the town’s wider regeneration.

Supermarket chain Morrisons was expected to take over, before pulling the plug on the deal in March.

Overall, the town centre’s regeneration is expected to deliver 1,200 jobs, 400 homes and around £1bn of economic activity over the next decade.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s growth director, 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 are already in talks with UCLAN to re-locate and expand their Training 2000 offer here, and what an opportunity this is.”

Nick Hague, project director for Maple Grove Developments, added: “We’ve been working in partnership with Blackburn with Darwen Council for a number of years and are delighted to be supporting them in bringing forward this hugely ambitious and exciting project.

“The two new buildings, along with the fantastic public realm and landscaping, will transform this key gateway site into a world-class education and commercial quarter, supporting the wider regeneration plans of the town centre.

“These are indeed exciting times in Blackburn.”

The project team for the skills campus is being led by BDP who drew up the plans and features Appleyard and Trew as the cost consultant.

Betts Hydro undertook flood modelling and WSP was the highways engineer.

The planning application can be found on Blackburn with Darwen Council’s planning portal with the reference 10/24/0595.