Have your say on the future of Nelson

“Nelson is one in just over a hundred!” said Coun. Mohammed Iqbal, leader of Pendle Council.

The town is one of 101 across England chosen to bid for a new Investment Plan worth up to £25 million from the Government’s new Town Deal funding pot. Town Deals are focused on regeneration, skills and enterprise and better connectivity.

They are designed to raise living standards, create jobs, improve workforce skills, boost transport and broadband connections, create community hubs and improve cultural opportunities.

The development of the Investment Plan is being overseen by the Nelson Town Deal Board which includes community representatives, people with businesses in the town and young people from the Pendle Youth Council.

Chairman of the board is Stephen Barnes who is the Chairman of Nelson and Colne College.

He explained: “This is our time for Nelson. It’s a huge opportunity and we must act fast. We must submit our new Investment Plan to the Government in January 2021.

“So it’s vital that local people, including people with a business in the town, have a say on the development of our Town Investment Plan. The Nelson Town Deal website has been launched this week and people can share their views on the town’s future on the Have Your Say page and people have untll midnight on Sunday October 11th to comment."

The new website can be found at www.nelsontowndeal.co.uk.

Views are currently being sought on a long list of ideas about how the funding could be spent, including, for example:

Bringing empty and underused sites and buildings back into use to create new housing and employment opportunities;

Improving skills and technical education opportunities, including the chance to learn or improve digital skills;

Improving traffic flows and parking around the town centre.

The website also introduces the Town Deal board and the work that they are doing to develop the Plan.

Stephen Barnes, chairman of the Nelson Town Deal Board, said: “There are lots of positives to celebrate about Nelson, but lots of challenges to overcome too.

“We welcome this opportunity to set out a renewed path to prosperity for the town which we can all help to define and work together to achieve.”

Councillor Iqbal added: “Nelson is one of only two towns in East Lancashire to be selected to bid into the Town Deals fund. Nelson was chosen as a pioneering place with a proud industrial heritage but with a pressing need for extra investment to boost the town’s economic growth for the future.”