Fund for property developers celebrates tenth anniversary

An initiative which lends money to developers to bridge vital funding gaps on major property schemes in Lancashire is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Since the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growing Places Fund was launched in 2013, the government-backed programme has invested more than £40m in developments of all types and sizes across the county.

This in turn has unlocked a further £100m of private investment, enabled the delivery of nearly 800 new homes, and helped to create more than 2,000 jobs.

Notable projects it has supported include Burnley’s On the Banks, one of the largest heritage-led property schemes in the North West; the regeneration of the Chatsworth Gardens estate in Morecambe’s West End; 30 new homes and public realm at Langroyd Place in Colne; and the 1m sq ft Burnley Bridge industrial site.

The Growing Places Fund has also contributed to the success of two of Lancashire’s most significant urban regeneration developments in recent years.

In Blackburn, it was utilised by Maple Grove Developments to help bring forward the £20m Cathedral Quarter project which saw a rundown 25,000 sqm district transformed into a vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhood.

And in Preston it backed Etc Urban’s ambitious plan to convert a former Victorian warehouse on Guildhall Street, into The Union Carriageworks.

The loft apartments and offices scheme has been widely credited with kick-starting Preston’s current city living movement.

The fund continues to welcome applications from Lancashire businesses with viable proposals who find they have a gap in their financing.

The latest beneficiary is Walker & Williams, a Preston-based developer specialising in contemporary boutique hotels. It successfully applied for £1.6m of Growing Places finance to help bring forward the conversion of a historic magistrates’ court in Ormskirk into a five-star aparthotel.