Within the 185,000 sq. ft. recently completed warehouse unit onthe new 90-acre commercial development at Frontier Park, the #AmazingAccrington business leaders meeting was full of facts and figures stating Hyndburn’s rapid growth.
Professor of Innovation and Associate Dean of Enterprise and Employability at Edge Hill University, Simon Bolton came to share his research. Developers, academics, business leaders and council representatives gathered in the cavernous building, spanning 4 acres, to hear the findings.
“I am here today to give some facts. Through analysing the approximately 3,600 high-growth businesses in Lancashire we have been able to look at the data and see what is actually happening.
There are 6 key hot-spots in Lancashire, these are areas that are seeing very stable growth and brilliant potential for the future. I am very pleased to announce that out of the whole of Lancashire, Accrington is second on that list, which I’m sure many find surprising!”
Coming second to Chorley and above Preston, Burnley, Lancaster and Lytham in the top 6 ‘hot-spot’ list, this is great news for Accrington.
Professor Simon Bolton continued:
“7.1% of the Accrington companies area achieving compound annual growth rate of 20%, which is a phenomenal figure. This isn’t short term growth either, these are established companies who have a large asset value and turnover. As a university we want to bridge the gap with these businesses and work together to promote further growth. That’s why I’m here today, the research has targeted Accrington as a hot spot and is now an area of interest for us.
Size certainly doesn’t matter, Accrington is very much punching above its weight and initiatives like #AmazingAccrington are fantastic for promoting that and for bringing businesses together. We want to be within areas that have solid foundations and potential for huge growth in the future.
I am currently looking for 10 Hyndburn-based businesses to benefit from our high-growth programme, I urge anyone interested to get in touch with our Marketing Coordinator, Kathryn Connell- Welsh atkathryn.connell-welsh@edgehill.ac.uk.”
Alex Kenwright, Frontier Park’s Development Manager, shared details of the ongoing growth and success at this new exciting commercial development.
“Sat here today we are in a building spanning 185sq ft, over 4 acres under cover, which is just one part of the a first phase of 400,000 sq. ft. speculative development recently completed. It’s huge, and it’s all in Hyndburn. But it is not just big spaces users that we can accommodate. We have split up the site to cater for every business size and requirement from 20,000 sqft upwards.
This is now one of the largest developments of its kind in the North-West and is a top-class location in Lancashire for businesses. We have already secured the best in class EG Group service area, a 150-bedroom Hampton Hilton Hotel and a 60,000 sqft letting to food drying technology manufacturer Tek Dry and soon will be announcing further occupiers, local, national and international.”
With £50million investment to date, a predicted 2000 new jobs created and a hub for flourishing business, it’s anticipated the property asset value of the development will be around £125million once complete within the next 2 years.
Alex continued:
“We need more people to do this, more people to develop and invest in the area to attract more business. There are great businesses in Accrington and Lancashire, and they need excellent facilities, such as Frontier Park, in which to grow and flourish further.”
Miles Parkinson, Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council finished the meeting with a plea, for businesses to get on board with local activities:
“Thank you to Frontier Park for the splendid tour of this facility, to #AmazingAccrington for bringing us all together and to all the business leaders who have taken the time out to come along today. We have heard some fantastic news, some facts about why Hyndburn is flourishing and is a hot-spot, yet I feel the community don’t echo this success, or maybe aren’t aware of it.
With the help of local businesses, I want to make sure we communicate this properly, everyone here is proud to shout about their Accrington-based business, the public need to be proud too! Hyndburn need to stand tall and proud. I urge business to communicate, get on board with initiatives, with local activity and engage with the people of Hyndburn as a business. We are working hard to do this as a council and it’s through supporting each other we can really put Accrington on the map.”
For more information about the high-growth programme email:
kathryn.connell-welsh@edgehill.ac.uk
For more information about Frontier Park visit
Business Leaders Meeting – May 2019 Gallery
