Traders in Burnley are 'very much' open for business

Work to strengthen and refurbish the Curzon Street bridge began in January and is due to finish at the end of September.

The bridge is located close to Primark at the junction with Bankfield and the pedestrianised area of the town centre.

The shops are all open for business, with access for shoppers and pedestrians to use the high street as normal.

Cllr Scott Smith, lead member for Highways and Active Travel at Lancashire County Council, met up with shop owners to discuss how trading is going amidst difficult post-pandemic conditions, including the cost-of-living crisis and increased energy prices.

He said: "I was keen to meet the traders and discuss how the high street is faring as I know that they have faced a lot of pressure in recent years.

"We are keen to complete this much-needed work to the highest standard to ensure that it remains safe in the future and are grateful to the traders and shoppers for their patience during this project.

"The work will allow the bridge to remain in service for many years to come and will mean that there will be no need for future repair works to impact the new cinema and town centre development that is soon to open adjacent the site.

"We will do everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum.

"We are keen to support the high street and would like to remind shoppers that Curzon Street and Standish Street are very much open for business, with a little bit of something for everyone.

"There are some really interesting and unique independent shops here and I'd recommend that people pay the area a visit."

Amanda Hanson from Sweet William Florists, who met Cllr Smith, said: "We have had difficult trading recently as a lack of parking during the renovations has caused a lot of issues for us.

"We are very keen to stress that we are open and are very grateful to our regular customers, but we hope that more people will be tempted to come along and see us.

"We will always do our best to meet our customers' needs and we'd love to see more people over the doorstep. If customers can't come in, they can always give us a call and we will try to help in any way that is possible.

"It's such a unique area with shops that many people don't even know are here. There's a nail bar, home brew, hairdressers, cafes, sweet shops, somewhere to pick up uniforms, us here at the florists and so much more. There is something for everyone here so if you've not been before, give us a try.

"We all offer a specialist, unique service and together we make up a community."

The first stage of the project, to redirect gas lines, was completed last year. The rest of the project was organised to re-start in January 2023, to minimise the impact on shops, shoppers and local businesses during the festive period.