Prince Charles arrives in Burnley

10:09am Thursday 21st February 2008

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PRINCE Charles has arrived in Burnley for his day-long visit of the town.

He was met at Burnley Manchester Road Train Station by the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, Lord Shuttleworth, at around 10am.

The Prince was then taken straight to Burnley Town Hall where a crowd of 100 well wishers and the Burnley Air Cadets were ready to welcome him.

The air cadets formed a guard of honour and The Prince was then met by Burnley Council's leader Gordon Birtwistle, chief executive Steve Rumbelow and mayor Peter McCann.

He took time to speak to the cadets before going inside the town hall.

Prince Charles signed the mayor's guest register, then headed into a private meeting with councillors and dignataries to discuss the regeneration of Burnley.

Later in the day, The Prince will visit some of Burnley's most innovative buildings - the first of which is the Lancashire Digital Technology Centre where the prince will open a new workshop at the engineering firm BCW at around 11am.

There will be an opportunity for him to meet young members of the Muslim community who have been involved in the Mosaic programme as well as business leaders who have been involved with the Prince of Wales' Seeing is Believing scheme.

Brand new and state of the art, Burnley Youth Theatre is the next stop on the Prince's busy itinerary, where young people on the Prince's Trust's Acting Up Programme will be able to display their acting skills to the royal visitor at around 1pm.

His Royal Highness will be invited to explore the Burnley SPACE youth bus, which is designed to entertain young people and encourage them away from anti-social activities.

Prince Charles will end his tour at the Weavers' Triangle, an area showing Burnley's rich industrial heritage, at 2pm.

He will enjoy a trip along the Leeds and Liverpool canal in a narrowboat, which takes in the former cotton mills, and famous straight mile, which carries the canal along an elevated stretch dominating the town.

At the end of the day and back at the town hall, local faith leaders will tell him about work in the local community.

The Prince will then meet with teachers and students who have attended a day long workshop run by one of the Prince's own charities - The Prince's School of Traditional Arts.

Burnley Council Leader, Gordon Birtwistle, said: "We are very grateful for him taking time out of his busy diary to visit us."

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