While Blackburn is not a city, it is the largest municipality in what is known as East Lancashire. The town offers lots of potential if you are thinking of moving here, planning an investment, starting a family or beginning higher education. Here are some quick facts:
House Prices 🏠
- Most expensive property: 4 bedroom detached house £1m
- Average house price in Blackburn: £116,784
- Cheapest property: 1 bedroom flat £39,950.
Property Investment 🏠 🏠
- Property prices in the area are forecast to rise by 10.4% for 2017-2021
- The area is particularly attractive for student lets with areas such as Burnley seen as viable alternatives to the now hard-to-enter market of London and the South East
- The town centre recently was approved for funding as part of the Business in the Community’s Healthy High Streets programme.
Economy ££
- Almost 4,000 new jobs have been created in the area since 2009, outperforming regional and national job growth figures
- Blackburn town centre is currently subject to a new multi-million pound investment, including £30m in the Cathedral Quarter
- Major employers in Blackburn include Blackburn College, Thwaites Brewery, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council; and the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Location and Transport 🚌
- There has been £40m investment in the rapid bus transit system
- £14m has been invested in the Manchester train line bringing city and Blackburn ever closer, stimulating investment and job creation
- The M65 motorway passes to the south of Blackburn and the town has lots of A roads
- Blackpool International Airport, about 23 miles (37 km) to the west, is Blackburn's nearest airport. Manchester Airport is about 28 miles (45 km) to the south of the town.
Education 🎓
- Blackburn College has the largest University Centre in England and is rated Outstanding by OFSTED. It has the highest Advanced Apprenticeship Success rates in England and recently had a £65m investment
- There are a mix of state and independent schools, including Catholic, Church of England and Islamic schools.
Environment 🌷
- Blackburn with Darwen is set miles of magnificent countryside offering activities including walking and cycle routes, heritage and nature trails, and outdoor attractions
- Visit the impressive Blackburn Cathedral that offers visitors a green oasis of calm in the bustling town centre. There has been a church on the cathedral site for more than 1000 years
- There are plenty of places to enjoy a shopping experience including The Mall and Darwen Market Town.
Trivia 🎬
Finally, did you know …
- Blackburn became the first town to undertake the mass finger-printing of people following a murder in 1948? The investigation was a milestone in the history of forensic science, and the first time mass fingerprinting had been used to solve a crime
- Blackburn railway station features a 24 foot (7.3 m) mural depicting eight famous faces associated with the town, including Mohandas Gandhi, who visited nearby Darwen in 1931?
- Blackburn Rovers Football Club was formed by a group of public schoolboys in 1875?
