Occupier lined up for 87,000 sq ft Blackburn skills hub

Training 2000, which provides employer-demand training programmes, is in talks to relocate to a new-build facility within the planned £60m innovation district – part of a wider £250m town centre masterplan.

Owned by the University of Central Lancashire since 2017, Training 2000 has been in talks with Blackburn with Darwen Council about the creation of an 87,000 sq ft purpose-built training centre in the town.

The BDP-designed building earmarked for Training 2000 is the first new-build block within Blackburn’s proposed £60m innovation district.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has been awarded a £20m grant from the government’s Levelling Up Fund for the district.

The authority’s executive board will meet next week to “note the positive discussions [with Training 2000] and progress to date”.

The council is also seeking approval to spend £600,000 to take the project through planning.

If Training 2000 signs for the new-build hub, the company would relocate from what the council describes as “unassuming industrial estate-style buildings on Furthergate Business Park” into the town centre.

The need for the hub is outlined in a report to the council’s executive board. It states: “Blackburn has one of the youngest populations in England, which makes the area very attractive to both businesses and training providers.

“Moreover, Blackburn has been, for a number of years, one of the most significant catchment areas in the UK for UCLan’s undergraduate population.”

By 2030, it is hoped that Training 2000 will be able to provide services for around 2,800 industry-based learners, a three-fold increase on current numbers.

As well as providing a modern facility for Training 2000, the council hopes the wider innovation district will “significantly boost regular town centre footfall”.

The wider £250m Blackburn masterplan was dealt a blow last week when Morrisons reneged on plans to relocate its town centre store to the former Thwaites brewery site.