A MAJOR £21million town centre leisure and retail complex will create 120 new permanent jobs when it is completed in spring 2023, its developers have revealed.
The Pioneer Place project will also create 180 construction jobs when building starts in late summer this year.
The timing of the scheme in Burnley town centre has been revealed by Maple Grove Developments, part of the Eric Wright Group, after it submitted a post-coronavirus blueprint for the complex.
The revised planning application follows Burnley Council approving a previous one in January last year.
It includes plans for a seven-screen Reel cinema and 12,750 square feet of leisure and retail floorspace across five units with a new public space.
Located on the former Pioneer Co-op site on Curzon Street in the town centre, the scheme hopes to attract a range of national and independent food and drink operators with Nando's a target big name chain.
Its Labour leader Mark Townsend said: “This is another step forward in helping to secure Burnley’s future as a thriving centre with an attractive shopping offer during the day, and a vibrant night-time economy.
"There have been a number of expressions of interest from national chains including Nandos but we would not expect to confirm any for 12 to 18 months until building is well under way.
“Having a multi-screen cinema in the town centre, along with new restaurants, will help draw in more visitors which will give a wider boost to other nearby shops and businesses. It fits in well with our ambitions to see Burnley become a university town with the expansion of UCLan and Burnley College.
“It’s about planning for a better future and part of wider work to prepare the way for business recovery post Covid-19”
Nik Puttnam, senior development manager at Maple Grove Developments, commented: “It has been a challenging 12 months for the project, but working in partnership with Burnley Council, it is really exciting that we no w have adeliverable scheme.
"Subject to securing planning consent in the early spring, we hope to start works on site in late summer 2021, with the development scheduled to open in Spring 2023.”
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