Lancashire County Council approves funding boost for £32m Northlight development

Lancashire County Council has given the go-ahead for a £2.15m funding boost to support the redevelopment of Brierfield Mill in Pendle.

The seven-figure sum, approved by council leader Jennifer Mein, includes £1.5m that will go toward public realm and infrastructure works and revamping the site’s marina for leisure use.

Further, £650k of the funding will support Lancashire Adult Learning as it relcoates to Brierfield Mill from Chorley.

The £32m plan will see Brierfield Mill become Northlight, a new residential, educational and leisure destination that the County Council hopes will maximise the site’s economic potential as an east Lancashire heritage asset.

County Councillor Jennifer Mein commented: “This is an exciting project with the potential to transform the fortunes not just of Brierfield but of the area as a whole.

“Bringing together leisure, residential and educational facilities in this iconic building will create a host of opportunities for people from across Lancashire and beyond and provide a real boost to the local economy.”

The Northlight project is led by PEARL, a joint venture established between investment firm Barnfield Investment Properties Ltd and Pendle Council.

Of the £31.8m overall cost, £21.8m has come from the private sector and £10.1m from the public sector, with Pendle Council ploughing £1.5m into the scheme.

Barnfield Construction MD Tim Webber, who is a board member of the PEARL joint venture, said: “As Pendle based developers we’re extremely passionate about the Northlight development.

“It’s an exciting project for a stunning complex of historic buildings across a site of over seven acres.”

Efforts to strip out the building, Tim confirmed, are now underway.

Pendle Council leader Cllr Mohammed Iqbal said: “We’re delighted to welcome Lancashire Adult Learning to Pendle which will join a number of other leading organisations at Northlight.

“They include Burnley Football in the Community, which will provide an exciting range of leisure facilities, and Training 2000’s new Cyber Centre.

He added: “Pendle Council has worked closely with Lancashire County Council over the last 12 months to get to this stage of a massive project which will provide hundreds of new jobs.”