Burnley FC in the Community (BFCitC) is delighted to announce that the required funding has now been secured to move into the next significant phase of works at the Leisure Box community hub at Northlight, formerly Brierfield Mill.
Thanks to a substantial grant of £611k from the Football Foundation (via the Premier League and FA Facilities Fund) and a further £400k from Sport England, an overall cash injection of £1m will see BFCitC move to the internal fit-out stage of the facility.
This phase will include the implementation of an indoor 3G pitch, a sports hall, cricket lanes, a gym, a café, classrooms, a youth club space and a dance studio. It will also oversee the build of a bespoke clip n’ climb structure and a children’s soft play area.
Neil Hart, Chief Executive Officer of Burnley FC in the Community said: “It’s with thanks to funding from the Football Foundation (via the Premier League and FA Facilities Fund) and Sport England that we can now make strides into the next phase of works for this extremely exciting project.
“We’re delighted to be working closely with a number of key organisations including the Sutton Pendle Charitable Trust, Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership, Pendle Borough Council, Barnfield Construction Ltd and PEARL to get this work off the ground.
“This ambitious project is going to create fantastic job opportunities for local people and offer state-of-the-art sports and education facilities to the communities in Burnley and Pendle. With this investment now in place, we look forward to this next phase of works starting on site.”
Tim Webber, Managing Director and Chairman of Barnfield Construction commented: “We’re delighted that Burnley FC in the Community have managed to secure their grants from the funding bodies. This is yet another great step forward in the rejuvenation of Brierfield Mill, now known as Northlight.
“Together with the Lancashire Adult Learning Centre this really gives us a platform to move forward with other elements of the scheme. The completed facility will be an enormous benefit not only to the immediate area but to the whole of East Lancashire. This has been a real partnership approach from all parties involved and I’m delighted that we have reached this stage.”
The Leisure Box facility will open in the old warehouse section of the historic building. Derelict for 10 years, the iconic site is a former textile mill that sits on the border of Burnley and Pendle. The renovation and reimagining of the facility will bring brand new sport, health and wellbeing opportunities for all sections of the community to engage with and participate in.
This next phase of works follows the £3m that has already been invested into the project’s capital works via a number of partners. Major reconstruction works of the entire site have now been completed including significant mechanical and engineering works, the reconfiguration and decoration of all three levels and the development of a new mezzanine level.
The Leisure Box will form part of BFCitC’s portfolio of facilities that already includes BFCitC’s head offices at Turf Moor, the UCFB Burnley education hub in the Jimmy McIlory Stand and Whitehough Outdoor Centre in Pendle. This drive to open dynamic and thriving facilities is part of a wider strategy to ensure BFCitC is embedded within local communities for the long term.
The project will be delivered after another extremely successful year for BFCitC. Over the course of last season, BFCitC engaged with over 25,000 people and invested close to £2.7m into communities.
