The State of Lancashire Report
External Opportunities

• Current developments in London and the South East are of a size and importance that are on a wholly different level to anything happening in the major cities in the North of England let alone Lancashire. For example, the London 2012 Olympics; the Channel Tunnel rail link to the completely transformed St Pancras International Station; the Crossrail link through central London; Terminal 5 at Heathrow; the rapid pace of change occurring in the Docklands and further out in to the Thames Gateway; whilst the redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle area of central London is one of the largest regeneration schemes ever seen in Europe. There is the new Wembley Stadium and a host of other projects that are transforming the capital. The Regional Gross Value Added research monitor dramatically exemplifies the economic dominance of London. The speed, capacity and reliability of transport links from Lancashire to the capital will dictate as to what extent the county can benefit from its direct access to this world-class centre of economic activity (see Transport and Accessibility).

• Uniquely containing two conurbations together with a large number of secondary urban centres, the North West as a whole carries considerable economic weight within the UK, has a large regional labour catchment area and a secular trend away from manufacturing and towards service industry sectors helping to expand the range of potential employment opportunities available to Lancashire residents.

• In a recent assessment of UK regional competitiveness undertaken by the Centre for International Competitiveness, the North West Region is ranked as a rather unassuming 6th position. However, this was an improvement on its GVA per head ranking (8th place) and the Competitiveness Index implies that the North West has recently been significantly out-performing other UK regions. This achievement has been driven by an improving economic out-turn in Liverpool, Manchester, Salford and Trafford.

• Good access to metropolitan centres (Merseyside/Greater Manchester/West Yorkshire) and proximity to large regional urban markets: 8 million people live within 50km of the County. Manchester in particular has been transformed over the past 20 years to become a city of major European importance. The city has an impressive choice of cultural, leisure and shopping facilities and Lancashire is well placed to benefit from its enhanced status and role. Much has already been achieved in the centre and east of the city, whilst further housing, leisure and business developments are in the pipeline. The neighbouring city of Salford has also experienced a fundamental transformation especially in the former docks area.

• Local strengths in advanced engineering related to the aerospace, automotive, nuclear, medical and other sectors has been recognised by the establishment of a flagship Aerospace Innovation Centre (AIC) in Lancashire. Bringing together universities, companies and other stakeholders across the North West and beyond, the AIC will act as a catalyst for developing and disseminating new technologies and address a range of services related to the delivery of innovation, skills development, supply chain improvements, etc. Proposals also exist for the creation of a Regional Aerospace Business Park at BAE Systems' Samlesbury site that will create an International Centre of Excellence for manufacturing on a scale that could act as a counter-weight to the Southeast's focus on financial services.

• The Lancashire Economic Partnership has identified the fast growing Environmental Technologies and Services (ETS) sector as an activity in which Lancashire manufacturing companies could create a competitive advantage. The local growth of this sector is seen as enhancing the move towards higher value manufacturing as well as being part of the overall transition to a low carbon economy.

• In 2007, the North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) launched its largest ever assistance package for the region's aerospace sector backed by £2.6 million from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The four-year programme aims to ensure that the NWAA can elevate Tier 2 aerospace companies (Small to Medium-sized Enterprises) to "world-competitive" status in the supply chain. The money is supporting the introduction of aerospace industry 'mentors' to participating companies. The funds are matched in kind by contributions from within the industry, and the target is for 45 world-competitive companies to be supported by 23 mentors supplied by Airbus, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce.

• The North West Development Agency has supported a number of other initiatives in Lancashire. The websites of the North West Development Agency and the Lancashire Economic Partnership list recent developments in the Lancashire sub-region.

• The "Northern Way" growth strategy initiative identifies Lancashire as one of the North's eight key city regions that are expected to drive economic growth across the North of England, raising its productivity and participation rates to the national average. The concentration of high value advanced manufacturing and engineering within this "city region" is recognised as a major national asset.

• The North West Development Agency's Regional Economic Strategy includes support for regeneration of the most deprived areas of the region as a key proposed activity to be undertaken by Local Strategic Partnerships.

• Of the National Lottery funding that is allocated to projects in specific geographic areas, a total of £306 million has been given to nearly 5,385 projects in the Lancashire sub-region, equivalent to £211 per head. This compares with a North West average of £303 and a UK average of £339 per head. Containing 2.4% of the UK's total population, Lancashire receives only 1.5% of the National Lottery "Good Causes" funding. Raising Lancashire's "share" of lottery funding to the national average could potentially generate millions of pounds of additional income for the county per annum.

• The commercial strengths of both Manchester and Liverpool result in employment opportunities for many Lancashire residents. The 2001 Census recorded a balance of net outward commuting of 21,400. Many parts of Lancashire earn a very decent living as desirable residential areas from where to commute to these centres. Parts of Rossendale, Ribble Valley, Wyre, West Lancashire and Chorley districts have household incomes amongst the highest in Lancashire.

• The net benefit to the county from cross-border commuting is emphasised by the fact that the 2007 Lancashire (NUTS-3) residence-based weekly median earnings figures for all employees were £12.30 per week higher than the workplace figures.

• Manchester International Airport is within 45 minutes travelling time of Preston by motorway and accessible by direct train services from Blackpool, Lancaster, Chorley and Preston. With two runways, it offers an ever-expanding choice of scheduled and charter services to an enormous range of destinations. The airport has expanded as a base for low cost carriers such as BMI baby, Air Berlin, Easyjet, Flybe and Jet2.com, and in 2007 was used by a total of 22.1 million passengers.

Current Northern Navigable Limit of the Lancaster Canal

• Good road connections to the rapidly expanding Liverpool John Lennon airport (5.5 million passengers in 2007) and also to the Port of Liverpool. Leeds/Bradford airport has grown rapidly over recent years (2.9 million passengers in 2007) and is easily accessible by road from North East Lancashire.

• International rail travel from Lancashire to mainland Europe became easier in November 2007, when Eurostar services moved from London Waterloo to St Pancras International. Eurostar now offers through ticketing from a number of stations across the UK including Preston and Lancaster. Passengers can purchase a combined ticket through to Paris, Brussels, Disneyland Paris, or even further afield. Changing stations in London has been made easier since Euston is just one Tube stop or a short walk from St Pancras International.

• Lancashire benefits from 125 mph Pendolino train services to London Euston via the West Coast Mainline (WCML). Work is underway on enhancements that will further improve the service between Lancashire and the capital by early 2009. In addition, May 2008, saw the Department for Transport confirm that agreement had been reached to provide 106 new carriages which will create four new eleven-car Pendolino trains and will also lengthen 31 of the existing trains from 9 to 11-cars. These will be in full service by December 2012.

• The Lancashire and Cumbria Route Utilisation Strategy highlights a range of proposed improvements to Lancashire Rail Services. Line speed improvements, additional service provision between Blackburn and Clitheroe, a proposed hourly service on the Preston-Ormskirk line and reinstating Burscough Chord South to operate a Southport-Ormskirk service are amongst the recommendations in the strategy. The railway station usage figures detail the recent growth rates in rail passenger numbers in the county.

• A new road link between Heysham and the M6 to help the expansion of the Port of Heysham has recived approval. The route will be a 4.8km long two-lane carriageway all-purpose road with intermediate junctions and a combined footway/cycleway along its full length.

• The Highways Agency website lists road projects by region and includes information on developments in Lancashire within the search results for the North West.

• The northern reaches of the Lancaster Canal (southernmost point at Tewitfield) are currently derelict, but there are plans for a £50 million restoration scheme to reopen the 14-mile section to Kendal.

• Lancashire's designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are complemented by the close proximity to three National Parks: the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales and the internationally renowned Lake District.

• Rural parts of the county are key assets of increasing value to residents as places both to live and to work. Internet broadband connections offer new business and lifestyle opportunities and there is strong demand for rural housing in, or close to, prosperous market towns and smaller dormitory villages.

• Proposals for Regional Parks round the Ribble Estuary and on the urban fringes of the main urban centres in East Lancashire will further enhance Lancashire's "liveability" offer. The Lancashire Woodland Vision aims to increase woodland cover and the area of woodland being managed; create a multi-functional network of woodlands to improve landscape character, and provide a recreation and amenity resource for local communities and visitors to the area.

• Significant funding from the North West Development Agency in order to accelerate the process of reclamation of derelict, under-used and neglected land in Lancashire for soft end (non-commercial) after use (REMADE programme). The website highlights the REMADE programme sites across Lancashire. These include a number of locations in East Lancashire where problems of social deprivation and a degraded environment are particularly acute. Peel Park, an 88 hectare site close to Accrington town centre, is worth a mention with it being a particularly important project.

• The NWDA is working with its partners to tackle climate change. In November 2006, the Agency launched the region's Climate Change Action Plan. This aims to stimulate and measure the progress of the region towards a low carbon economy, preparing it for the challenges of a changing climate and future energy demands, while protecting and enhancing our quality of life and rich environment. The threats of climate change are serious, but as businesses adapt to these threats, there are also real opportunities for the environmental technologies sector to profit in areas such as waste management, renewable energy, pollution control and energy efficiency.

• The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside works to protect wildlife in town, countryside and in the rivers and seas throughout the region and has a number of reserves in the county and the wider North West area. A major new development for the Trust is the 112 hectares Brockholes Quarry site next to junction 31 of the M6. It will be the hub of a network of wetland sites in the North West and should prove to be a popular visitor attraction.

• The Natural Economy Northwest initiative aims to maximise the economic benefit from existing and new investment in the region's natural environment. It is a partnership led by Natural England, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the SITA Trust. The intention is to assist natural environment projects that, with the right investment, will deliver economic, social and cultural benefits across the Northwest.

• The NWDA Action Plan is aimed as addressing the following key priorities: increasing demand for learning, improving workforce development, adult basic skills, ICT/E-learning, high impact skills including customer service, management capability and attracting and retaining graduates.

• The Complete Univsersity Guide ranks universities by using data sources in the public domain from organisations such as the Higher Education Statistics Agency. In June 2008, the results revealed that Lancaster University had a very impressive overall ranking of 10th highest out of 113; the University of Central Lancashire was in 63rd place whilst Edge Hill University in Ormskirk was in 107th position. As a new comparatively new university, it will take time for Edge Hill to be on a par with its more established counterparts.

• The three Lancashire universities of Lancaster, Central Lancashire and Edge Hill are increasingly linked into the wider North West universities network, which collectively forms the largest concentration of such institutions in Europe.

• Late 2007 saw construction start on a new college and university campus in Burnley. The £81m development is due to open in September 2009, and will incorporate a sixth form centre and a separate skills and adult centre. It will also bring a university directly into Burnley, as a centre of the University of Central Lancashire will be a key third element of the campus. The investment will bring new opportunities to study for degrees and foundation degrees in East Lancashire for people who want to learn close to home. In addition, the development will help to regenerate central Burnley by transforming a large 10-acre site close to the town centre. It also will be easily accessible by public transport.

• Blackburn and Blackpool Colleges are also examples of academic institutions where significant expansion schemes are making major contributions towards urban regeneration.

• There are a number of other important expansion projects at Further Education Colleges and Universities in Lancashire. These include the developments envisaged at Edge Hill University.

• Change for Children is a cross-government programme in England that aims to provide improved support and opportunities for all children and young people, to enable them to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being. The programme includes Sure Start bringing together, early education, childcare, health and family support. The TeacherNet website has a wide range of resources and support for the schools, whilst information for parents on the Directgov website includes finding a school, healthy eating, special educational needs and youth justice. Finally, the Parents Centre website provides information and support for parents on how to help with their child's learning from birth to 19 years old.

• The Government intends to renew and/or replace all secondary schools over a 10 to 15 year period that began in 2005/2006. Lancashire is in the first wave of the Building Schools for the Future programme which covers schools in Burnley and part of Pendle districts.

• The comprehensive Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (Health and Wellbeing) for the Lancashire County Council has the aim to an assessment of needs for the whole population, including gaps and inequalities. The purpose of this is to ensure that those responsible for commissioning services to meet those needs can do so with accurate, up to date, focused intelligence to inform their commissioning activities. The Synopsis provides a brief overview of some of the challenges facing the county.

• Sport England is committed to improving sport participation rates. The organisation's Active People Survey was the largest ever survey of sport and active recreation to be undertaken in Europe. Between October 2005 and October 2006, over 363,000 adults in England were contacted by telephone, with a minimum of 1,000 interviews per local authority. For England as a whole, 21% of the adult population regularly participate in sport and active recreation. The findings for the 14 Lancashire authorities reveal that South Ribble recorded the highest rate (24.5%), whilst a further eight Lancashire authorities recorded rates in excess of the England average. Wyre, Burnley, Hyndburn, Blackpool, and Blackburn with Darwen however all had rates below the national average. The latter three were in the bottom 25% in the country, with Blackburn with Darwen recording the lowest participation rate in the North West region (16.3%).

Appley Bridge, West Lancashire

• Elevate is one of central government's nine housing market renewal pathfinder projects charged with finding innovative solutions to the problem of low demand, negative equity and housing market collapse in towns across East Lancashire. With funding of £156m awarded for 2008-11, Elevate is working to deliver an ambitious programme to revitalise failing neighbourhoods.

• Significant improvements over recent years appear to have been made in tackling the problem of homelessness in the county and across the country as a whole.

• The cost of houses in hot spots within the North West have made parts of Lancashire a more attractive option as a commuter base. The broader Lancashire area is expected to exceed the England average rate of household growth between 2004 and 2029, with a projected increase in the county of 26.3% (England=25.8%).

• The population of the broader Lancashire area is estimated to increase by 16.6% between 2006 and 2031 to reach a figure approaching 1.7 million. This is well in excess of the North West projection of 12.3%, but slightly below the England average of 19.0%.

• Crime nationally appears to be stabilising after a long period of reduction. The British Crime Survey reveals that crime has fallen by 44% since last peaking in 1995, representing 8.4m fewer crimes, with domestic burglary falling by 59%, vehicle crime by 60% and violent crime by 43%. On the recorded crime side, both domestic burglary and theft of and from vehicles have continued to fall over the same period. With both these crimes, having security measures in place was strongly associated with lower levels of victimisation.

• Household projection figures indicate a significant increase is expected in the number of single-person households in Lancashire. Life expectancy improvements and the pressures on the traditional family unit mean that a substantial proportion of these additional single-person households will be amongst the older age groups.

• Population projections by five-year age bands also emphasise the substantial growth in population projection in the older age-groups up to 2031.

• A large proportion of retired people have private pensions and other sources of funds that mean that they have comfortable lifestyles and spending patterns that help underpin the local economy. Parts of Lancashire, especially rural and coastal localities, are attractiveare attractive residential areas for older people. A development of particular note is the Middleton Towers retirement village in Lancaster district. This 80-acre site is said to be the largest retirement village of its kind in the UK, whilst nearby is Stud Farm Park Stud Farm Park. Also of interest is the opening of the Oakbridge Retirement Village Oakbridge Retirement Village that is contained within the major Buckshaw Village housing and commercial development to the south of Chorley.

Yorkshire Dales Lead Mining Museum, Earby

Source www.yorkshiredalesminingmuseum.com

• Blackpool is seeking to transform the central core area of the resort to extract greater year-round economic value from its tourism assets.

• An extensive built heritage, much of it based upon Lancashire's nationally significant industrial past, has considerable potential for economic re-use and tourism benefit with potential to enhance the area's image. The Heritage Trust for the North West is a registered Building Preservation Trust that is actively involved in a number of projects in Lancashire.

• The county council's Archaeology service promotes the history and archaeology of Lancashire through a summer programme of guided walks, lectures and talks. Their web presence attracts significant numbers of visitors from home and abroad, and it is acknowledged that this presence could be further enhanced.

• The former commercial port of Preston has over the years been transformed by new housing, retail and leisure facilities. It is Western Europe's largest inland dock basin (the waterspace is approximately three times the area of the Albert Dock in Liverpool) and offers berthing and support services for pleasure craft. Further significant developments are under consideration to maximise the potential for commercial and residential developments on the site and the surrounding area. The aim is for Riversway Docklands to provide the hub of tourism, entertainment and water based leisure and recreation activities in Preston.

Carnforth Station

• Lancashire County Council's strategy for promoting equality and diversity (2006-2009) covers issues in relation to age, disability, faith, gender, race and sexual orientation. Like many public organisations, the authority has a legal duty to produce equality schemes on disability, race and gender. The County Council is committed to make sure that all the communities it serves are satisfied with the standard of information and services provided, and to further develop arrangements for involving service users.