Going forward to regenerate Rossendale Valley (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Going forward to regenerate Rossendale Valley

4:00pm Friday 7th September 2012 in News By Chris Gee, Reporter

A PRIVATE sector partner has been announced to plan the future for Rossendale’s major regeneration schemes, which will be including the recently demolished Valley Centre site.

Barnfield Investment Properties, along with social landlord Together Housing Group, have been named preferred regeneration development partners.

Coming up with a plan for the long-term future of the former Valley Centre site in Rawtenstall is set to be one of the new partnership’s priority tasks for Barnfield, who have similar partnerships in Burnley, Pendle and Hyndburn.

The short-term future of the site has seen £2.5million spent buying the eyesore site, demolishing the structure and creating a public space on the former shopping precinct and Astoria Hall.

October 6 has been set as the official launch date for the reva-mped area.

Council leader Alyson Barnes said: “It’s a key appointment because it brings together the skills, expertise, resources and finances to enable the partnership to start to look at dealing with Rossendale’s key regeneration sites.

“We’ve chosen the Barnfield with Together bid after months of hard work.

“We were fortunate that each of the organisations who responded to the tender were of a really high quality but this partnership was a clear winner.”

With regard to Valley Centre, Coun Barnes added: “One of the early projects for the partnership to address will be to look at the future development options for the Rawtenstall site.

“We don’t expect things to happen overnight.

“But by establishing this part-nership we are now firmly in the driving seat to realise our ambitions.

“Creating the right conditions for regeneration activity to take place in Rossendale is vital to our long term prosperity.

“Today’s announcement is a hugely important staging post to make regeneration a reality.”

Among Nelson-based Barnfield’s recent projects in partnership local authorities are the development of a University centre in the Weavers’ Triangle area of Burnley and various residential developments in Nelson and Colne.