Mention Accrington to many people and they will think of Lowry landscapes and dark satanic mills – but in a recent survey Hyndburn came 18th in a list of 408 boroughs graded on quality of life.

Based on the crime rate, the quality of local hos-pitals, the affordability of family housing, the quality of state schools and employment levels, Ribble Valley came ninth while Kensington and Chelsea came 244th and Greater Manchester 328th.

“Pennine Lancashire is one of the UK’s best kept secrets,” says David Welsby, the managing director of Hyndburn Borough Council. “We do have an awful lot in the area that is not replicated elsewhere.

“It’s the natural environment and the quality of life that is available in this area. As I say I think it is unsurpassed and we need to capitalise on that and create a housing and living offer that’s going to be attractive to professionals who are looking for somewhere to live.”

He does, however, recognise that the borough has an historical over-supply of terraced houses, many of which were built at the end of the 19th century. “I do think we need to diversify. We need to see many more family homes built in the area and many more homes that cater for the executive market.”

The council already has had some success in this area. “The housing market in the borough has experienced amongst the strongest growth in the UK over the past five or six years, by far outstripping the regional and national averages.

“What we’re looking to do increasingly is to support the development of higher-end housing in the borough so that people who are choosing where to live or reach a particular income level are able to find the choice that they want in this borough.”

One of the biggest challenges facing the borough, in common with Blackburn, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, is improving wage and skills levels.

It has a twin-pronged strategy to address these issues. It has launched a massive programme of modern apprenticeships and is looking to enhance employment opportunities at the higher skills end with a ‘knowledge’ park at the Whitebirk Strategic Employment Site.

Working with Accrington and Rossendale Coll-ege the council is offering an apprenticeship to virtually anyone in Hyndburn who is looking for one.

“We initially thought our first intake would be heavily geared towards younger people and, of course, it’s important for us to deal with the needs of younger people, but we’ve actually had a really mixed intake that’s surprised us.

“In the first batch of apprentices we had a woman in her 40s who had raised a family and was interested in training for a professional qualification, an ex-serviceman who had been retired after an injury in Afghanistan and some people at the younger end too, so we’ve had a mixed range of people who are interested,” he said.

“We are working with all the employers we can, that’s private businesses, the police, the primary care trust, the council, the college, everything from small garages to large private enterprises.

“What makes it different from any other apprenticeship scheme that’s available in the UK at the moment, is that we will fund 100% of an apprentice’s salary and we’ll fund all the training costs.”

The scheme includes virtually any subject that can be covered by a training package offered by any of the local colleges or universities and that ranges from catering, hospitality through to business administration up to degree level qualifications.

The council is also taking active steps to foster business growth and start-ups. “We have money available through the local Economic and Growth Initiative Scheme which provides grants for existing businesses that might either be looking at expanding or looking at new product areas,” said David.

“We also have money available for new business start-ups. We’re trying to increase the number of VAT registrations in the long term and improve survival rates of businesses in the area.”

David believes that Hyndburn is ‘probably the best placed of all the Pennine Lancashire authorities for providing land for new businesses’.

“Our major site at Whitebirk has now been recognised by the Regional Development Agency as a strategic employment site for the North West region, well served by the M65 and ready for a major expansion business within the area,” he said.

The council is also looking to ensure that as many new jobs as possible go to local people. “We will be looking to secure with employers a contract around employing local people.

“We have had discussions with, for example, Tesco, who are interested in an 80,000 square foot store in Accrington, about ensuring that they treat it as a regeneration store. The normal employment standard is a third from their existing stores, a third from open recruitment and a third local people. The deal we’re talking to them about is a third existing staff and two-thirds local people, with a predominance of people who are currently unemployed or in jobs that are vulnerable.

“We’re interested in that sort of contract of employment because that is the key to driving the economy throughout the area.”

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