News Centre

Abiding by the roadmap for easing restrictions in England, and if everything goes according to plan with the Government’s four step rules, the Colne town centre entertainment venue will reopen with a full Autumn/Winter programme at the beginning of September. The grant from The Theatres Trust Reopening Fund is to help with costs of COVID-secure […]

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has become only the third university to receive a special UNICEF award. UCLan has been awarded the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative Achieving Sustainability Gold Award for Universities. In addition, it is the first higher education institution to achieve the recognition for the midwifery and health visiting programmes simultaneously. […]

Businesses in Chorley’s main shopping centre are looking forward to bringing fun and entertainment back into people’s lives with the local authority’s investment in Market Walk putting the town in a much better position than many other places to recover from the pandemic. Chorley Council finished a multi-million pound investment in the town which was […]

 Preston’s ambitious growth plans received a welcome boost from government following a visit from the High Streets Task Force.  In January, the task force ran a workshop with representatives from the city council as well as some of the city’s leading business and community figures to discuss how the city’s growth plans can be realised. […]

Blackpool Airport, owned by Blackpool Council is to bring the management and day-to-day airport operations back in-house. Following a lengthy review and search to appoint a new operational management contractor, Blackpool Airport Operations Ltd (BAOL), Blackpool Council’s wholly owned subsidiary, has decided to take the operational licences back into its own name. Transfer of the […]

International Women’s Day on the 8th March celebrates the achievements of women across the globe and champions inclusivity. This year the theme is ‘Choose to Challenge’ and that is something that the women who work at VEKA plc and the wider industry and beyond do every day. VEKA has spoken to several women leaders on […]

Work to refurbish Worden Hall, the centrepiece of the iconic Green Flag Award-winning Worden Park, will begin late March/early April following planning approval. Having been unused for more than seven years, resulting in the space falling into a state disrepair, this exciting, ground-breaking project will see a raft of refurbishment works to the site which […]

The Eden Project has reaffirmed its commitment to creating Eden Project North in Morecambe in Lancashire, despite no direct funding for the project being announced in today’s Government Budget speech. Eden has submitted a business case to the Government for £70m towards the total £125m cost of the project, a major new exemplar attraction that […]

Leyland is to receive up to £25 million in funding, the Government has announced. The award follows a funding bid submission in October 2020 by Leyland Town Board to the Government’s Town Fund. The bid includes three key projects in Leyland Town Centre: Leyland town centre improvements including a new public square and commercial and […]

Some of the biggest names in international trade are gathering with county exporters for the Lancashire International Trade Conference. Designed to acknowledge the challenges and highlight opportunities, representatives of  the county’s most successful globally-trading businesses and the support organisations behind them are coming together with international guests to inspire and motivate new and seasoned exporters […]

A first of its kind programme has been launched across Lancashire aimed at helping the county’s fastest growing food and drink businesses to target contracts with national retailers. Route Into Retail is a partnership between Lancashire’s public sector backed scaleup brand, Two Zero, and Wynne Business, a Lancashire-based retail sales consultancy specialising in helping food […]

Burnley is at the centre of UCLan’s expansion plans, Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin has explained; There are many reasons why, including an engaged business community and the desire to raise aspirations across the borough; The borough was recently singled out by the Former Secretary of State for Education, Rt Hon Justine Greening, who said: “The […]