Work Completes at Pioneer Place, Burnley

Following many years of hard work by the project partners, we’re delighted to announce that construction of Pioneer Place has completed and has been handed over by the Eric Wright Group to Burnley Council.

The £23 million scheme is anchored by a new seven-screen REEL Cinema. Other tenants include Loungers, who recently opened Icaro Lounge on the site, Nando’s and Starbucks – two other tenants are soon to be announced. The scheme also incorporates new, high quality public realm and a 226-space car park.

It is hoped that the high-quality building design and enhanced public realm, including a new public square, will enhance the arrival experience into Burnley and improve connectivity throughout the town centre.

The design of the scheme followed many years of hard work and refinement by the team. We originally secured planning approval for the site in 2020 but, due to changes brought about by the pandemic, worked with the project partners to revise our proposals and re-submit for planning in 2021. We’re therefore delighted to see the whole team’s effort and ambition realised.

Phil Hepworth, Director, said: “We’re extremely proud to have collaborated with the partners on this landmark project – helping to revitalise the town centre and make it an attractive place for people to live, work, visit and invest in. The high-quality scheme will raise Burnley’s profile as a leisure destination and enhance its night-time economy.”

Jeremy Hartley, the Eric Wright Group’s managing director, said: “Pioneer Place is a significant regeneration project which will benefit the people of Burnley and the wider Lancashire area.”

“It’s a place where people will want to come and spend time for years to come and we’re incredibly honoured to have played such a fundamental role in its creation.”

“This is one of a multitude of placemaking town centre schemes we as a business have been involved in across Lancashire.”

“The leisure and retail sector has experienced a huge amount of change over the last few years and I couldn’t be more proud of the way in which our teams have worked so collaboratively to ensure that these projects were delivered.”

Pioneer Place was made possible with funding from Burnley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, the Government’s Getting Building Fund administered by Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and local fashion company boohoo.