A STATE-of-the-art light show is set to herald the completion of the initial phases of the former cotton industry heartland in Burnley next week.

Thirty short films detailing the town’s storied past and a series of ‘stunning’ projections will light up Slater Terrace as part of the £100million On The Banks celebration at the Weavers’ Triangle.

Dame Julia Cleverdon, the Prince of Wales’ representative, is among the guests invited for the visual treat, the brainchild of leading artist Jo Fairfax, which will also incorporate a number of mill chimneys nearby.

The Prince himself, a renowned fan of the historic district, famously brought the Queen and Prince Philip to Burnley to tour his pet project in 2012.

Ongoing support has been received from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Regional Growth Fund, European Regional Development Fund, Burnley Council and Lancashire County Council on the waterside initiative, which even saw a 200-year-old culvert repaired after the canal was briefly drained.

A Burnley Council spokesman said: “The project launch event will be marked by the switch-on of stunning historic interactive film animations with a short pyrotechnic display.

“Film animation and light projections will be projected onto two iconic chimneys and onto the historic Slater Terrace.”

Once the event has taken place, the light projections should become a permanent feature, providing a spectacle which can be seen across town.

The main contractor for the project has been Nelson-based Barnfield Construction.

Work to date has seen a university technical college spring up at the former Victoria Mill, the Prince’s Trust move into Sandygate and a new public square created just a stone’s throw from the Leeds Liverpool Canal, along with Banny’s drive-thru fish and chip restaurant.

Further proposals could see a hotel development take shape around Sandygate Square, with vacant land still up for grabs opposite. The former Habergham Eaves Parochial School, which is Grade II listed and dates back to 1840, has also been renovated.

The gathering, next Wednesday, will be by invitation only but there are plans to stage future public events in the square, with the suggestion that the borough’s annual canal festival could be focused there again in future.