Pioneer Place in for planning
Maple Grove Developments has submitted a planning application for the £18m Pioneer Place leisure and retail development in Burnley.
The 28,500 sq ft scheme is being funded by Burnley Borough Council with £3.2m in grant support from Lancashire County Council. Maple Grove, the development arm of the Eric Wright Group, is being advised by Smith & Love Planning Consultants.
Designed by AEW Architects, Pioneer Place will be anchored by an eight-screen Reel Cinema – Reel signed last month, confirming that it will relocate from its existing site on Manchester Road. The Curzon Street scheme will include restaurants, bars, shops, a public plaza and a 125-space car park.
Nik Puttnam, senior development manager at Maple Grove Developments, said: “This planning application marks another significant milestone in the project and the ongoing regeneration of Burnley town centre.
“With the development agreement signed and Reel Cinema committed to the scheme, we are now in a position to move forward with planning and marketing the site. The aim is to start construction in late 2020 with the cinema being open for business in early summer 2022.”
The development sits between Addington Capital’s 365,000 sq ft Charter Walk shopping centre and Burnley College and University of Central Lancashire facilities.
Leader of Burnley Council Cllr Charlie Briggs added: “Pioneer Place is an important and exciting development for the town. Over 8m people visited Burnley town centre in 2018, and this scheme will be a further invaluable addition to the town’s overall offer.”
A retail and leisure scheme of some kind has long been desired by the council at the site, with Henry Boot signing up to deliver a £40m project in 2011 before pulling the plug a year later – Urban & Civic predecessor Terrace Hill then became involved, to no avail. Burnley launched procurement on a scaled-back £18m project in June 2017, selecting Maple Grove as its partner the following March.
