'Bank of Dave' filming and places like Crow Wood Hotel and Towneley Hall are giving Burnley a 'moment' to last / Burnley Place Brand Manager Rachel Bayley

On the whistlestop tour I took them on, we crammed in Little Lancashire Village, The Leisure Box, Little Barista, Crow Wood Hotel and Spa, Burnley Mechanics, Towneley Hall, Gawthorpe Hall and The Lawrence Hotel.

Needless to say, they were incredibly taken aback, and honestly told me that they didn’t realise there was so much to do just a short drive from Manchester city centre. The headline in the MEN was that ‘Burnley has having a moment.’

Well, let me tell you, this so-called ‘moment’ is here to stay. The past fortnight alone in Burnley is testament to this. First up, Bank of Dave: The Sequel’ commenced filming in Burnley, with a whole month dedicated to the production here. I managed to catch up with Dave Fishwick outside the bank whilst the crew were filming in the background. He told us that whilst the first ‘Bank of Dave’ was stepping into the unknown a little bit – Netflix, in Burnley? Really!? The second has seen the global giant throw everything at it. In fact, Netflix has been filming a behind-the-scenes of Bank of Dave 2, including Dave’s day-to-day activities, such was the popularity and buzz around the first one.

The Burnley.co.uk film office has been busy granting film permits and ensuring the administrative burden is made as easy as possible for the crew, as we really want to establish our borough as an open and affordable film hub. If that wasn’t enough, the BBC’s Morning Live was simultaneously filming in Towneley Park for a piece about geocaching. They interviewed Burnley Leisure and other key partners and it was amazing to see this beautiful asset on mainstream morning television.

We also welcomed former Apprentice candidates Adam Corbally and Camilla Rose Ainsworth to a burnley.social event at Burnley College. Burnley.social is the Burnley.co.uk sister brand, aimed at a younger demographic to raise aspirations and make our younger residents aware of what a great place Burnley is to study, work and live. Adam and Camilla were impressed by the questions they were asked by the audience and

as proud Northerners, are fully behind what the Burnley Brand team does via Burnley.co.uk and burnley.social to change both inward and outward perceptions. Throw in several Burnley businesses taking home trophies at the Red Rose Awards in Blackpool and it truly has been an incredible fortnight.

However, as Burnley Place Brand Manager, this is honestly what our working days look like most weeks. I’ve been in post four years and it’s felt like Burnley has been having a’ moment’ since I started (and long before I did too) – and it’s amazing to see the rest of the UK (and world!) now realising this.