About the area
Located in the East of Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen is a semi – rural unitary borough, with compact urban areas predominately but not exclusively located around the towns of Blackburn and Darwen.
The area is surrounded by beautiful countryside and features a number of small rural villages and hamlets. Geographically the borough borders Bury and Bolton in the South, Chorley in the West, Hyndburn and Rossendale in the East and the Ribble Valley in the North.
Blackburn is the largest town in East Lancashire and one of the largest in the County. It is a town that has industry, innovation, skill and hard work woven through its history and shaping its future. This was one of the first industrialised towns in the world. Now with one of the youngest populations in Europe, Blackburn is re-inventing itself: it has found its mojo and is simply bursting with potential that will bring prosperity to the place and its people.
Opportunities
Regeneration and opportunities are coming on at pace across both Blackburn with Darwen. With a £250m master plan for Blackburn Town Centre, coupled with multi-million pounds worth of investment in the pipeline for Darwen as part of the Town Centre Deal, it’s an exciting time to be working in the borough.
We are really proud of our latest innovative Extra Care facilities. They are recognised as a blueprint nationally for future integrated care provision.
A collective ambition to become a city in 2022 has been backed by leaders across the political spectrum, partners, businesses and the borough’s most well-known faces.
You can read more about why they are so proud of Blackburn here.
Blackburn town centre has seen multi-million pound regeneration in recent years and the Cathedral, which is Lancashire’s Cathedral, now stands proudly in a transformed quarter complete with an award winning new office block, lively cafes and restaurants. This compliments the significant investment in the shopping Mall and other new schemes include the new Blackburn Leisure Centre and a multi-million pound bus station which has been nominated for a RIBA design award. Blackburn now has a town centre independent cinema that has quickly become a destination for movie goers from around East Lancashire.
Follow this link to find out more about Darwen Town Deal.
In December 2016 Blackburn was crowned winner of the Government’s prestigious Great British High Street. The Secretary of State Sajid Javid complimented Blackburn as “a great example of how hard work and support for local businesses can turn things around.”
Recent years have also seen a growing nightlife with new bars and venues opening all the time and building on Blackburn’s history of making and manufacturing the town now plays host to The Making Rooms, a hub for digital and creative entrepreneurs with one of the country’s best equipped Fab Labs. The National Festival of Making has also helped put Blackburn on the map with design guru Wayne Hemingway leading the creative vision to celebrate everyone from independent talented makers to manufacturing giants such as Graham & Brown and Crown Paints. Wayne and wife Geraldine have also recently launched a new development of 167 contemporary houses that put quality of life at the centre of their design.
Darwen is a friendly market town with quaint shops and cafés and good train links direct to the centre of Manchester. What sets the Borough apart is the wonderful countryside, with views of amazing landscapes epitomised by the historic Darwen Tower, which has breathtaking views across a beautiful green outlook. Here there is space to enjoy, that offers fresh air and freedom whether you are walking or cycling and all within a few minutes of the town centres. For great quality of life at great value this is an ideal place to set up home, especially with Manchester literally up the road.
