A developing relationship

Karen Hirst is extolling the virtues and value of partnerships and the vital role she believes they will play in forging Lancashire’s post-Covid future.

It is a subject she is well qualified to discuss, having spent most of her career bringing the public and private sectors together with impressive results.

Karen, 52, is managing director of Maple Grove Developments. Part of the Lancashire-headquartered Eric Wright Group, it continues to work closely with its public sector partners to deliver real change across the red rose county.

Just 24 hours after this interview, Maple Grove submitted a new planning application for the £21m Pioneer Place scheme in Burnley town centre.

The partnership with Burnley Council will deliver 120 new jobs, provide work for180 during construction and add £1.35m GVA to the local economy.

The developer is hard at work with Blackburn with Darwen Council to form a joint venture that will acquire the former Thwaites brewery site and look at a range of redevelopment options.

Maple Grove is also Lancashire County Council’s commercial partner in the development of the key strategic 65-hectare Lancashire Central site at Cuerden, near Leyland.

These are just some of the ventures set to play a role in the county’s recovery and they highlight the breadth of development projects Karen and her tight-knit team are involved in, not just in Lancashire but across the UK.

Looking beyond the current pandemic, Karen urges the public sector to be “brave” in its approach to recovery and in its efforts to secure the financial support that will be needed from sources such as the government’s new ‘levelling-up’ fund.