Pennine Lancashire

By LBV

28 May 2010

In attendance:

Ben Briggs - Lancashire Business View

Francis Bradshaw - Handelsbanken

Ilyas Munshi – Enterprise 4 All

Peter Cloney - PPE

Steven Greenhalgh - JJO Plc

Lee Collins – Hillendale Group

Ian Leigh - Napthens

Steve Wilkinson - Pennine Lancashire Enterprise Trust

David Hill - Napthens

Craig Richardson - Dow Schofield Watts

John Green - Pierce Corporate Finance

Mike Damms – East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce

Is Pennine Lancashire being overshadowed by Preston and the funding being allocated there?

David Hill: I worked in Preston for 10 years. I came over here last year to work and it’s quite clear there’s more of an emphasis on public funding going into Blackpool and to the Tithebarn district of Preston than into Blackburn. You have to wonder whether Government views Blackpool as being more deprived than some of the areas of Blackburn or elsewhere in Pennine Lancashire when actually I don’t think they are.

John Green:

Mike Damms: We’re about the only place in the country where the deprivation is getting worse.

Ilyas Munshi:

Ian Leigh: It’s important not to get hung up on what’s going on in Preston. The challenge faced there or in Blackpool is a lot simpler than the challenges we face in Pennine Lancashire because it is such a large area.

John Green: Read the full discussion in Lancashire Business View 32.