Marsden and Slaithwaite Development Frameworks

Project Champion: Michael Blake
Aim: To provide a sustainable expansion of the existing employment and housing access along the banks of the canal.
Achievements to date:

• We have held meetings with the owners of major sites in Marsden and Slaithwaite, where it is either known, or expected, that the uses of those sites will change within the next five years.
• Encouraged the owners to become involved in the Renaissance process and to think about using the sites for purposes that will provide employment and business opportunities, as well as housing.
• Talked to planning officers to promote the idea of a masterplan for the village centres.
• Encouraged joint working between planning officers, site owners and the renaissance steering group to achieve renaissance objectives.
• Introduced consultants working on feasibility studies for other priority projects to the owners of Globe Mills, Slaithwaite and New Mill and Bank Bottom Mills, Marsden to see whether the needs of those projects and the aspirations of the site owners could be matched.

Targets for the next twelve months:

• To continue to encourage site owners to take an active part in the Renaissance process.
• To promote good design where new buildings are constructed.
• To look at a range of documents: Parish Plans, Viiilage Design statements and Area Action Plans and to look at the merit of producing a similar document for the Colne Valley.
• To recruit an appropriately skilled project steering group to take this idea forwards.
• To get major local landowners together in a forum.

The major challenges of the project to date have been:

• Being able to demonstrate to site owners and planning officers that there is an advantage to them in being active partners in the Renaissance process.
• Finding sources of funding and officer time to engage in a strategic master planning project.