Lancashire Rural Pathfinder

1

• Lancashire Rural Pathfinder
• Market Towns Working Group
• Chipping Village Hall.
• Friday 20th May 2005
• Dorothy Morris - Pendle Borough Council

2
Market Towns

• How do they contribute to a sustainable rural
  future?
• Centres for employment, economic
  investment and business development
• Settlement centres
• Service hubs
• Transport gateways

3
Blockages

• Lack of employment land
• Lack of suitable business sites/premises
• Lack of public sector funding
• Planning constraints on development
• Withdrawal of services retail, medical,
  financial
• Long term sustainability of local
  partnerships

4
Actions

• Local and immediate
• support for local partnerships
• create employment opportunities by
  encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting
  local business
• provide targeted assistance to provide
  site infrastructure

5
Actions

• Local and medium
• area action plans
• social housing
• build on local service provision
• develop incubation units
• exploit tourism potential

6
Actions

• Strategic
• lobby for market towns to be recognised
  in RES, RSS and Northern Way
• proactive rather than reactive to loss of
  services
• co-ordinate rural transport
• provide facilitation role for collective
  working of market towns