Blackburn has announced plans for a skills and cyber campus of ‘national significance’ in the town following a recent council meeting. Part of Blackburn with Darwen Council’s £250m Blackburn Town Centre Masterplan, £20m of national funding towards the scheme has also been re-confirmed by the new government.
Phase one of the project, which will be centred on the Blackburn Market site on Brown Street, will comprise of a new contemporary building with landscaping and public space.
The campus will sit within the Blackburn Business Innovation District, an investment zone featuring a new Innovation Hub and connections to The Making Rooms and Blackburn College’s already strong cyber capabilities. Discussions are now taking place with T2000, the University of Central Lancashire’s training company, to explore how they might utilise the scheme.
The campus is further set to play a key role in the council’s plans to maximise the employment and supply chain opportunities set to be presented by neighbouring cyber and innovation assets, such as AMRC North West and the incoming National Cyber Force HQ, in nearby Samlesbury.
Following the planning approval, a design team will be appointed to progress detailed plans for the development. Highway and enabling works could commence in early 2025, with the main construction works expected to follow later next year. The ambition is for the building to begin operations in 2027.
In addition, the application – submitted by Maple Grove Blackburn (a joint venture between Maple Grove Developments and Blackburn with Darwen Council) – secured outline planning permission for a second building.
Read more about the plans here.
