Latest Press Release
The Prince of Wales returns to Burnley and pledges continued support
15th February 2008
The Prince of Wales has pledged the support of six national charities which he created to work in partnership with Burnley Borough Council, local businesses and other government and voluntary organisations in taking forward the regeneration of Burnley. The Prince’s Charities has devised a series of projects as part of a long-term commitment to the town’s development programme.
At The Prince’s request, a number of his charities - Business In The Community, The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment, The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, The Prince’s School for Traditional Arts, In Kind Direct as well as The Prince’s Trust – are working alongside the local authority and other organisations to help provide employment opportunities, work experience and extracurricular activities for young people, and expertise in regenerating part of the town. Click here to find out more about The Prince's Charities.
The initiative stems from a project that The Prince of Wales developed in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1985. After a large factory was closed down, His Royal Highness brought together the local authority and businesses to establish a regeneration programme for the town to increase employment opportunities.
Following a visit to Burnley in 2005 to see the work of The Prince’s Trust in the area, The Prince felt that a similar initiative could again prove to be beneficial.
A series of extensive consultation exercises have taken place between the charities, local government and businesses, the North West Development Agency and the local community to achieve a better understanding of how they can best enhance existing programmes and initiatives in Burnley.
In December 2007, His Royal Highness invited Burnley Borough Council, local business, voluntary sector leaders, and prominent community leaders to Clarence House for a detailed discussion on the proposed priorities and projects.
The Prince of Wales will visit Burnley on Thursday 21st February to see at first hand some of the projects that have already been implemented, and hear about future plans. These are;
The Prince’s Trust is running its ‘Acting Up’ programme at the Burnley Youth Theatre, working with a group of unemployed, 16 to 19-year-old young women. The Trust’s mentoring programme has also helped young people in the area to establish their own businesses.
They have also established the RBS Community Cash Awards which encourages young people to take up community projects, helping to tackle anti-social behaviour in the process.
Business In The Community have started a series of The Prince of Wales’s ‘Seeing Is Believing’ visits to Burnley, and as one result alone, Greggs, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s have agreed to support breakfast clubs in 15 of the most needy primary schools in Burnley for a minimum of three years. Greggs and Asda have supported the Burnley SPACE Youth Bus working in partnership with the police which is deployed to different parts of the town to provide advice, support and leisure facilities for young people.
The Mosaic Initiative, a mentoring programme for young Muslims convened by Business In The Community, is currently pairing up mentors with their mentees. An Education Business Cluster, comprised of ten North West businesses, has been formed to broker long term partnerships between schools and business, with the aim of providing support to the curriculum and local apprenticeships. Community leaders will be invited to attend workshops to help strengthen their skills in areas such as marketing and business planning.
The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment and The Prince’s Regeneration Trust are working closely with Burnley Borough Council in offering their expertise to help review the master plan for the town’s regeneration. In particular, they will be helping the council to explore ways in which the largely derelict areas of the Weavers’ Triangle (formerly the heart of the town’s industrial area alongside the Leeds to Liverpool canal), including its heritage buildings, can be restored and adapted to play a part in Burnley’s overall regeneration.
The Prince’s School for Traditional Arts, which teaches Arts and Crafts skills with profound roots in all the major faith traditions, will provide an artist-in-residence for schools, to help create multi-faith prayer spaces in new school buildings and run workshops to make arts and crafts objects that will be used for decoration.
In Kind Direct, who distribute companies’ surplus goods to charities, are working closley with Burnley Play Association distributing donated goods to them. They are liaising with 55 other charities in the area so that they can also benefit.
Steve Rumbelow, Chief Executive for Burnley Borough Council said:
"It's a great honour for the borough to host a visit by His Royal Highness. It's a great opportunity to tell The Prince about our ambitious plans to transform Burnley and show him some of the great work that's going on. Burnley Council and other agencies have been working closely with The Prince's charities and we are all very much looking forward to continuing what is turning into a very fruitful relationship."
Gordon Birtwistle, Burnley Council Leader said:
"We have ambitious plans to create a better Burnley, a Burnley that our people deserve. We need all the help we can get to deliver the regeneration of the borough and The Prince has been a great friend to Burnley. We are very grateful for him taking time out of his busy diary to visit us."
Julia Cleverdon, Chief Executive for Business In The Community said:
“The Prince of Wales’s determination to encourage and support his charities in working collaboratively together with our partners in Burnley has provided a unique opportunity to support Burnley in achieving its aspirations as a town. The support of Allan Leighton, Chairman of Royal Mail and The Prince of Wales’s Ambassador for Corporate Responsibility, in engaging many more businesses in Burnley’s regeneration, as well as that of Philip Green, Chief Executive United Utilities, in supporting the schools has been invaluable in taking the first steps together in this ambitious programme.”
Useful web links
www.princes-trust.org.uk
www.bitc.org.uk
www.princes-foundation.org
www.princes-regeneration.org
www.psta.org.uk
www.inkinddirect.org
Youth charity The Prince’s Trust has helped more than 550,000 young people gain skills and find work since 1976 and continues to support 100 more young people every day. The Trust helps change young lives by giving practical and financial support, developing skills such as confidence and motivation. Further information about The Prince’s Trust is available at www.princes-trust.org.uk or on 0800 842 842.