This is taken from the THI website, which is currently hosting a page for the masterplan.

The Bacup 2040 Vision & Masterplan

This page has been temporarily set up to update on the Bacup 2040 Vision and Masterplan, the High Street Heritage Action Zone (HS HAZ) and the Future High Streets Fund (FHSF).

During the final months of the Bacup THI a community and business wide consultation took place; the information gathered formed the basis of the Evaluation document for the THI.

Timeline: The following are key dates of the Bacup 2040 Vison and Masterplan:

December 2018 – the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced new grant funding for local authorities to competitively bid for. This grant funding is once in a generation transformational capital funding for town centres.  More info can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-high-streets-fund. The grant process is a two stage process – a competitive Expression of Interest Stage and a competitive Green Book Business Case stage

March 2019 – the Economic Development team invited representatives from each of the community groups, voluntary organisations and other service providers who operate within Bacup town centre, to take part in an engagement session. Information gathered at this session was used to building the framework and establish the Bacup 2040 Vision and accompanying Masterplan.

March 2019 – the Economic Development team submitted the Councils Expression of Interest to the MHCLG for Bacup town centre.

May 2019 – announcement of Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone – £95 million grant funding. More info can be found here https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/heritage-action-zones/regenerating-historic-high-streets/. The funding aims to regenerate historic high streets across the country to improve economic growth and create thriving high streets for their communities. The grant process is a two stage process – competitive Expression of Interest stage and a non-competitive Programme Design stage.

June 2019 – official close of the Bacup Townscape Heritage Initiative – 15 buildings restored, 25 different community engagement and training initiatives held, over 1000 people engaged through social media, extensive improvements to the public realm in the town centre, a number of new businesses established in town which can be attributed to the changes made by the THI.

July 2019 – Bacups HS HAZ Expression of Interest grant application was submitted – this application identified a number of buildings for restoration and repurposing, public realm enhancements, a number of community engagement and training programmes and also the creation of a Cultural Consortium to establish and develop the cultural experiences and opportunities in the town centre.

August 2019 – we are delighted to find out that Bacup was successful in the Expression of Interest stage of the FHSF grant application – we are now 1 of 101 towns, across the country, through to the highly competitive Green Book Business Case stage.

September 2019 – we are thrilled to announce that Bacup has successfully progressed to the non-competitive Programme Design stage of the HS HAZ. The Programme Design refines the proposals set out in the Expression of Interest.

October 2019 – the Council established the Bacup 2040 Partnership Board – chaired by a local business owner – the Board is made up from one representative of all the groups, organisations and service providers in Bacup town centre. Currently there are 33 community representatives and service providers (GP’s, Police, Transdev etc) on the Board, supported by Irwell and Greensclough Councillors and Officers from RBC.

October 2019 – the Council go out to procure specialist Consultants to work with to develop the FHSF Green Book Business Case. Consultants will focus on providing specials support on – redevelopment of derelict and vacant buildings within 1 mile of the town centre, the redevelopment of the market square, public realm engagement, a sustainable transport plan and parking strategy. The Consultants also attend the Partnership Board.

December 2019 – the Programme Design for the HS HAZ is submitted – final announcements will be made in March 2020. The Council host a tour for Historic England’s Regional Director, Catherine Dewar, in January 2020. In addtion to this the Bacup 2040 Vision and Masterplan both were refined to reflect thecomments from the Partnership Board and sub groups. 

Future deadline and dates of interest:

March 2020 – submission of the draft Green Book Business Case to the MHCLG.

April 2020 – start of the HS HAZ subject to final approvals.

June 2020 – submission of the final Green Book Business case to MHCLG.

Additional Information:

The Partnership Board has met 3 times (October & December 2019 and January 2020) and the agenda and minutes of the meetings can be found here.

October 2019 Agenda and Minutes

December 2019 Agenda and Minutes

February 2020 Agenda and Minutes (minutes to follow).

Sub group minutes to follow.

The Bacup 2040 Partnership Board has 6 sub groups. These sub groups follow the themes of the Bacup 2040 Vision and Masterplan and are:

• Enterprise
• Place
• People
• Vibrancy
• Transport
• The Fountain
• The Market traders.

The sub groups are chaired by community representatives from the Partnership Board and are attended by members of the Board with knowledge and skills or interest in the themes of the sub group. Other members the groups and organisations that make up the Partnership Board are welcome to attend.

The Project Team is a separate group made up from Officers from RBC and the Consultants working on the commissions. All of the minutes from the Partnership Board meetings and the Sub Group meetings are shared with the Consultant teams and feed directly into the Project Team and the development of the commissions.

Consultation: To date the Council has undertaken extensive consultation with the local community, local businesses and the Market traders.

• The Bacup THI evaluation consultation – for the community and businesses – online/paper questionnaire
• The Bacup 2040 Vision and Masterplan Consultation Session  – A workshop with community groups and key community members who operate within Bacup town centre
• 10,000 letters sent to every household in Irwell, Greensclough and Stacksteads with regards to the online / paper Bacup 2040 Vision and Masterplan questionnaire
• Social media – RBC’s, Bacup 2040 Vision and Invest In Rossendale twitter and Facebook accounts
• Workshops with 3 primary schools throughout Bacup
• Workshop with the Young Peoples Service
• A focused meeting of the Bacup Community Partnership
• Two focussed workshops with Bacup market traders including one with the Consultants for the Market Square redevelopment
• Consulting with the wider community using a stall at Bacup market on 2 occasions
• Working with sub groups of the Bacup 2040 Vision Board
• A landlord specific letter and accompanying questionnaire with the opportunity to meet and liaise with a heritage specialist Architect for all buildings within the HAZ boundary.

Future engagement:

• Vox Pop videos – short videos of members of the community discussing the Bacup 2040 Vision and Masterplan
• Place sub group refining the proposals for the Market square
• Dedicated Bacup 2040 Vision website full of information, facts and figures, frequently asked questions and project updates. Agendas and meeting minutes will also be available on here
• CGI of the proposed Market Square development.

Contact us through our Facebook page – Bacup 2040 Vision and Masterplan; Twitter – @Bacup2040Vision; email – economicdevelopment@rossendalebc.gov.uk.

Rossendale Borough Council, Futures Park, Newchurch Road, Bacup, Lancashire, OL13 0BB