A UNIVERSITY has reached a major milestone in its multi-million pound plans to generate a ten-fold increase in the number of students studying at its Burnley campus.

The official signing of the lease to acquire Victoria Mill, the former University Technical College building in Trafalgar Street, will kick-start the the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) educational blueprint for the town and East Lancashire.

Numbers of university students in Burnley are set to rise from under 400 to 2,000 by 2021 and up to 4,000 by 2025.

In addition to expanding the town’s university places for healthcare education, the investment will also include undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

The courses will focus on manufacturing; healthcare, fitness and social care sectors, aerospace, the creative and digital media sector, social sciences, business services and leadership and management.

The scheme will see UCLan working in collaboration with Burnley Council and East Lancashire Hospitals Trust and local business leaders.

David Taylor, pro-chancellor and chairman of the university board, said: “The acquisition of Victoria Mill captures the university’s ambitions and aspirations for the future prosperity of Burnley and the wider region.

“We will invest in state-of-the-art technology to provide new opportunities for talented people from all walks of life and provide a skills supply that will maximise the university’s social, environmental and economic impact.”

From its existing Burnley Campus at Princess Way, operating alongside Burnley College, the university already delivers a range of courses.

Victoria Mill will allow the university to offer a wider range of courses.

Cllr Mark Townsend, leader of Burnley Council, said: “It’s wonderful to see the former UTC building be brought back into use by UCLan.

“Victoria Mill is a landmark building in the historic Weavers’ Triangle and no-one wants to see it lying empty which is why the council warmly welcomes this move which has come about thanks to our work with the university and its commitment to Burnley.”

Kevin McGee, chief executive of ELHT, said in his weekly blog: “I want to begin by sharing a major announcement to make Burnley a university town with all the positive impacts that will have for the wider East Lancashire region.

“Working in collaboration with UCLan, Burnley Borough Council and a group of influential local business leaders, ELHT is actively supporting the university’s education strategy which is designed to meet the existing and emerging skills’ needs of Burnley and East Lancashire.”