Former Burnley cotton mill to be the real deal for jobs skills

12:00pm Wednesday 6th June 2012 in News

How Victoria Mill will look after the transformation How Victoria Mill will look after the transformation

THIS is how a historic former cotton mill will look after its imminent transformation into a £10.1million university building.

Planning permission has now been granted for the University Technical College (UTC) proposed for the Grade II-listed Victoria Mill, in Burnley.

Visions Learning Trust says it will educate 14 to 19-year-olds in a format that puts employers at its core.

Its aim is to equip youngsters with the skills levels req-uired by employers in the engineering, advanced manufacturing and construction industries.

Steve Gray, chief executive at Training 2000, lead sponsors of Visions Learning Trust, said: “Having the planning application approved means we can now make our dream of establishing Pennine Lancashire’s first UTC a reality, and I’m delighted we are able to get underway with the construction.

“It will offer an alternative to traditional education routes, and will engage young people through hands-on, vocational learning that will give them a real flavour of what life is like in the world of work.”

Mike Cook, director of economic regeneration at Burnley Borough Council, said: “After a lot of hard work, the innovative and exciting UTC development has now sec-ured planning permission.

“This is a major step forward that will enable us to very shortly start the work on site.

“The vision is to make Burnley a centre of educational excellence, and a regionally-significant centre for advanced manufacturing, dig-ital and creative industries.”

The planning application was accepted by the council last Thursday.

The conversion of the historic mill will be undertaken by Nelson-based Barnfield Construction in a joint venture with Burnley Bor-ough Council and will commence in the coming weeks.

The college is planned to be fully operational by September 2013.

Built in the 1850s, Victoria Mill was originally a Throstle cotton factory.

The buildings occupy a roughly triangular site bounded by the Leeds Liverpool Canal and Trafalgar Street.

Comments(12)

bankhall says...
1:49pm Wed 6 Jun 12

so what ?the paper makes it sounds as if its some fantastic building ?so now we are going back to the 2 tier system again abandoned in the 70's .Townley school was always a technical college where the people who only got middle/low marks on their 11 plus etc were sent because they were deemed the manual workers of society .So now we are going back to this system ?

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davidinburnley says...
2:21pm Wed 6 Jun 12

Well done Burnley Council for granting planning permission to something that fits in so well with the surrounding buildings. (NOT!) I wonder what Prince Charles will have to say on his next visit - we all know how keen he is on new architecture that is sympathetic to its surroundings. Still, I suspect the original building will outlast this monstrosity that is to be grafted onto it like some sort of scab.

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sean_brfc says...
2:24pm Wed 6 Jun 12

Not keen on the two-tier system, but the picture looks great and good to see the mills finally being restored and not demolished. Hopefully it will look as good in reality when finished.

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sean_brfc says...
2:24pm Wed 6 Jun 12

Not keen on the two-tier system, but the picture looks great and good to see the mills finally being restored and not demolished. Hopefully it will look as good in reality when finished.

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happycyclist says...
2:59pm Wed 6 Jun 12

sean_brfc wrote:
Not keen on the two-tier system, but the picture looks great and good to see the mills finally being restored and not demolished. Hopefully it will look as good in reality when finished.
I like the old and new buildings together, too.
But I also think the sooner we get back to the realism of a 'two-tier' system, the better. It was a mistake to try and push everyone along an academic path, and there are plenty of people who shouldn't be let anywhere near a college or university but who have the potential to succeed in more practical subjects.

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happycyclist says...
3:00pm Wed 6 Jun 12

sean_brfc wrote:
Not keen on the two-tier system, but the picture looks great and good to see the mills finally being restored and not demolished. Hopefully it will look as good in reality when finished.
The 'remove quote' button doesn't work.
Sorry sean_brfc, I didn't mean to quote you there.

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did you smash it? says...
3:28pm Wed 6 Jun 12

Good to see something positive being done with these buildings, which have been derelict and an eyesore for a long time, and as they are on one of Burnley's main routes into the town it will be good to see an improvement.
.
As for the two tiered education system I think it is a good idea, as lets be honest at school there are people who want to learn and be educated with a view to University entry etc, and those who would prefer to develop into the manufacturing industry and have no interest in academia.

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everywhere is sh1t says...
3:37pm Wed 6 Jun 12

who's paying the 10.1 million needed for this

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Graham Hartley says...
7:23pm Wed 6 Jun 12

"The buildings occupy a roughly triangular site bounded by the Leeds Liverpool Canal and Trafalgar Street."

Very roughly; study Euclid before studying maps.

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woolywords says...
5:29pm Thu 7 Jun 12

Graham Hartley wrote:
"The buildings occupy a roughly triangular site bounded by the Leeds Liverpool Canal and Trafalgar Street."

Very roughly; study Euclid before studying maps.
Triangles were more Pythagorus than Euclid. It's plane geometry.

Thought I'd nip over here, to the Burnley side from Blackburn and throw in some sense.

And even if the site appears a rhombus, quoting Euclid in Burnley, is as, 'pearls before swine'.

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Graham Hartley says...
12:15am Fri 8 Jun 12

One can criticise Euclid and praise Pythagorus (sic) but one loses credibility.

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Graham Hartley says...
7:42pm Fri 8 Jun 12

More - 'the weavers' triangle' refers to the roughly triangular shape of the region.

Any figure can be described as 'roughly triangular' unless it is perfectly circular, perfectly square, or indeed perfectly triangular and the rest. Euclid is yer man, here; study or retreat from such positions.

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