Burnley Leisure and Culture celebrates 10th anniversary with look at community impact

The not-for-profit trust was formed to operate the majority of leisure facilities in the borough previously managed by Burnley Council’s sport and culture services.

And to mark the anniversary, BLC has now gathered a collection of 12 true stories celebrating a decade of inspiring healthier and happier communities.

Among those featured is Burnley mum Helen Walsh, who first came across BLC through Buggy Bootcamp following the birth of her first child. As the years have passed, Helen and her partner now have four children, and Helen has shared how a range of BLC services have supported the growing family.

She said: “All of our children have learned to swim with BLC…Swimming is a fun and affordable activity we can do as a family, which means we can give all our children the same opportunities. The range of activities we can access through BLC is brilliant. As a special treat we go to Bistro 197 in Towneley Park and every year we go to the pantomime at Burnley Mechanics Theatre. Both of my daughters have been kayaking at Thompson Park and to the mini golf at the Prairie with their Brownie pack and we attended the Words Festival.”

Each story is supported with relevant stats, such as more than 2,000 children per week benefit from swimming in BLC’s pools in Burnley and Padiham, while the total number of visitors to its three bistros rose to 51,600 in 2023.

The stories have been gathered by Alicia Foley, a community investment consultant and a former community investment manager and community involvement advisor at Calico Homes.

She said “The people I have spoken to, had emails from and met with, have all experienced a very different journey: each one a unique human being with a different tale of their lives. But everyone I communicated with had one thing in common – they had all benefited from BLC’s work.”

Working in partnership with the council, BLC is responsible for the operation, management and development of St Peter’s and Padiham leisure centres, Prairie Sports Village, Barden athletics track, Thompson Park boating lake, Burnley Mechanics Theatre, numerous hospitality venues and Towneley golf courses and clubhouse, along with borough-wide arts development, community health and wellbeing, sport and play development schemes.

BLC’s not-for-profit status means that all of its surplus revenue is reinvested in its services and facilities, the most recent example being the £750,000 refurbishment of its gyms and swimming pool changing areas at St Peter’s in Burnley and at Padiham. It leads on the Beat the Street and #OutdoorTown initiatives and supports local health programmes such as Up and Active.

The BLC swim academy welcomes 1,000 children every week, while work in every one of the borough’s 32 primary schools touches the lives of 4,000 pupils.

The latest additions to the community support programme include the Down Town Kitchen & Café in Burnley town centre, as part of Burnley Together, including Active Cycles now integrated with the venue.

As part of the build-up to Burnley’s Year of Culture in 2027, BLC has launched the Culture Burnley Awards recognising the borough’s cultural organisations and individuals, which culminates in an awards ceremony at Burnley Mechanics Theatre tomorrow, hosted by broadcaster and fervent Lancastrian John ‘Gilly’ Gilmore.

BLC’s cultural manager Charlotte Steels said: “Burnley has an active cultural programme of activities, world class heritage and dedicated organisations and individuals committed to supporting local communities through high quality arts and cultural activities that build skills, support wellbeing and make Burnley a great place to live, work and visit. The awards is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on those working hard behind the scenes, and to show them how much they are valued by the borough and its people.”