Pendle forms JV with Brookhouse

The council is teaming up with the Cheshire-based developer on £25m plans to regenerate Nelson.

“Going into partnership with a strategic developer means that we can lever in private sector expertise and funding to combine with our own long experience in economic regeneration,” said Pendle Council chief executive Rose Rouse.

The joint venture between Pendle Council and Brookhouse Group has been dubbed PenBrook Developments. The JV company will operate for the next ten years, with an option to extend the contract by five years.

Rose described the partnership accordingly: “For every £1 Pendle Borough Council loans into this new company we will draw down £9 of loan funding from Brookhouse”.

Pendle’s Nelson regeneration proposals received £25m from the government’s Towns Fund.

PenBrook will focus on one of the council’s Town Deal schemes for the area: Revitalised Nelson. That project involves bringing vacant and under-used buildings back into residential and commercial use.

Pendle Rise shopping centre is one of the buildings being prioritised.

Mike Nuttall, property director at Brookhouse Group, shared his enthusiasm for the Revitalised Nelson scheme.

“As a northern private sector developer with expertise in retail and a wide range of commercial projects we are looking forward to working on this exciting new challenge,” Nuttall said.

“We hope our involvement will help to deliver a real positive change in Nelson.”