The Borough of Burnley () is a local government district with the borough status in Lancashire, England. It has an area of and a population of (), and is named after its largest town, Burnley. The borough also contains the town of Padiham along with several villages and surrounding rural areas.
The neighbouring districts are Rossendale, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Pendle and Calderdale.
History The town of Burnley had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1819. The commissioners were replaced in 1861 when the town was made a municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Burnley" but generally known as the corporation or town council. After elections, the corporation first met in January 1862 when Burnley's first mayor was appointed. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Burnley was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it became a county borough, independent from the new Lancashire County Council.Local Government Act 1888
The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, which were all abolished at the same time: Burnley County Borough Padiham Urban District Burnley Rural District (parishes of Briercliffe, Cliviger, Dunnockshaw, Habergham Eaves, Hapton, Ightenhill, North Town, Simonstone and Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood only, rest split between Pendle, Ribble Valley and Hyndburn)
The new district was named Burnley after the area's largest town. It was granted borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Burnley's series of mayors dating back to 1862.
The parish of North Town (which had been created in 1894 from the parts of Padiham parish outside the urban district) was abolished in 1983, being absorbed into Simonstone. Simonstone was subsequently transferred to Ribble Valley in 1987, with some adjustments to its boundaries with neighbouring areas.
In 2007 a proposal to merge Burnley with neighbouring Pendle Borough Council to form a larger unitary authority was rejected by the government."Government says no to home rule for Burnley and Pendle" , Burnley Borough Council website, 27 March 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
The creation of the Burnley Bondholders scheme, an initiative which brings together local firms to promote Burnley as a place for business saw Burnley awarded an Enterprising Britain award from the UK Government in 2013, for being the 'Most Enterprising Area in the UK'.
Under current local government reorganisation plans, all district councils in Lancashire, as well as the county council, will be abolished in 2028, with the district becoming part of a new Pennine Lancashire unitary authority.
Governance See main article: Burnley Borough Council
Geography
The Borough of Burnley roughly covers the upper part of the catchment basin of the River Calder, a major tributary of the River Ribble. This includes the catchment of the River Brun, which meets the Calder in Burnley town centre, but not that of Pendle Water. The Calder has its source in the Cliviger gorge which cuts through the Pennines into Yorkshire, very close to that of the West Yorkshire river with the same name. The gorge is located in the south east of the district and separates the South Pennines to the east from the area known as the Forest of Rossendale to the south. After passing through Burnley, the Calder turns around Ighten Hill forming part of the northern boundary and exits the borough at the west once it has flowed through Padiham. The exceptions to this occur along the southern boundary. The River Irwell and its feeder Whitewell Brook both have their sources on Deerplay Moor in Cliviger. Another tributary, Limy Water begins in Dunnockshaw and supplies the Clowbridge Reservoir. All three flow south into Rossendale. Catlow Brook forms part of the northern boundary (from the Coldwell Reservoirs to Walverden Reservoir) before continuing as Walverden Water into Nelson in Pendle. The banks of the Calder on the western boundary lie approximately AOD, but the hilltops on the eastern side—also the border between Lancashire and West Yorkshire—exceed in several places. Hameldon Hill () stands in the southwest corner, forming part of the boundary with Hyndburn.
The Burnley Way, a waymarked circular footpath, visits much of the district, also passing briefly into the Calderdale district of West Yorkshire. It is considered to start/end at the Weavers' Triangle Visitor Centre at Burnley Wharf on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Name Civil parish Classification Co-ordinates Burnley N/A Town Padiham Padiham Town Hapton Hapton Village Worsthorne Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood Village Brownside Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood Hamlet Walk Mill Cliviger Hamlet Lane Bottom Briercliffe Hamlet Mereclough Cliviger Hamlet Southward Bottom Cliviger Hamlet Overtown Cliviger Hamlet Holme Chapel Cliviger Village Hurstwood Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood Hamlet Cockden Briercliffe Hamlet Clowbridge Dunnockshaw Hamlet Dunnockshaw Dunnockshaw Hamlet Rogerham Briercliffe Hamlet
Media gallery
Towns and parishes
The borough contains eight civil parishes. The parish council of Padiham takes the style "town council". The central part of the borough, roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 borough of Burnley, is an unparished area. The parishes are:
Briercliffe Cliviger Dunnockshaw Habergham Eaves Hapton Ightenhill Padiham Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood
Padiham was also unparished from the abolition of its old urban district council in 1974 until a new parish was created in 2002, covering a similar area to the old urban district.
Demography +The Borough of Burnley comparedUK Census 2021BurnleyNW EnglandEnglandTotal population94,6467,417,39756,490,048Foreign born12.7%11.7%17.4%White82.5%85.6%81.0%Asian14.7%8.4%9.6%Black0.3%2.3%4.2%Christian48.2%52.5%46.3%Muslim14.0%7.6%6.7%Hindu0.2%0.7%1.8%No religion31.5%32.6%36.7%Under 1923.1%23.4%23.1%Over 6517.9%18.7%18.3%Unemployed3.6%3.4%3.5%Perm. sick / disabled6.7%5.3%4.1%
The borough's population has fallen from a high of 130,339 in 1911 to an estimated 87,700 in 2005.A Vision of Britain Through Time . Retrieved 6 May 2008. Between 1991 and 2001, it fell by 2.6%. Its employment rate of 59.0% places it 261st out of 376 local authorities in England & Wales; just 12.6% of its workforce are graduates, placing it 325th out of 376 local authorities.Office for National Statistics|2001 Census. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
The 2001 census recorded the population as 89,542 and the average (mean) age of residents was 37.7 years. The area of , giving a population density of . The gender makeup of the population was 43,408 male and 46,134 female. 64.3% of residents aged 16 to 74 were classed as economically active, with 0.8% long-term unemployed, but 8.9% classified as long-term sick or disabled. The largest employment sectors were manufacturing 29.3%, wholesale and retail trade including motor vehicle repairs 18.2%, and health and social work 12.9%. The ethnic makeup of the district was 91.8% white and 7.2% Asian, with the other ethnic minorities and people of mixed heritage making up the remaining 1%.
A 2010 report commissioned by the BBC and compiled by Experian ranked the borough as having the second lowest property prices in England, this combined with GCSE results and crime rates, led to the borough being ranked as the worst place in England.BBC News (Excel Spreadsheet) Accessed 2010
By the 2011 census the population was 87,059 (a decline of from 2001). The average age of residents had increased to 39.4 years. The population density then . The gender makeup of the population was 42,794 male and 44,265 female. 66.1% of residents aged 16 to 74 were classed as economically active, with 2.1% long-term unemployed and 7% long-term sick or disabled. The largest employment sectors continued to be manufacturing 17.9%, wholesale and retail trade including motor vehicle repairs 16.7%, and health and social work 15.7%. The ethnic makeup of the district had shifted slightly to 87.4% white and 11% Asian, with other ethnic minorities and mixed-heritage people at 1.6%.
At the 2021 census the population was 94,646 (an increase of from 2011). The population density then . The gender makeup of the population was 46,797 male and 47,849 female. % of residents aged 16 and over were classed as economically active, with % unemployed and 6.7% long-term sick or disabled. Although the largest employers continued to be in the same sectors, the mix had changed to wholesale and retail trade including motor vehicle repairs 19.6%, health and social work 17.2% and manufacturing 14.4%. The ethnic makeup of the district then 82.5% white and 14.7% Asian, with other ethnic minorities and mixed-heritage people at 2.8%.
Ethnicity Ethnic GroupYear1981 estimations1991 census2001 census2011 census2021 censusNumber%Number%Number%Number%Number%White: Total87,75596.5%86,98894.3%82,17191.7%76,05487.3%78,11282.5%White: British––––80,68590.174,46485.573,75277.9%White: Irish––––8480.95270.6457White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller––––100.083White: Roma––––106White: Other––––6380.71,0531.23,714Asian or Asian British: Total2,8883.2%4,7955.2%6,5277.3%9,57811.1%13,93014.7%Asian or Asian British: Indian2253024260.53210.4378Asian or Asian British: Pakistani199632604,4264.95,9246.810,102Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi5129911,4111.62,4252.82,737Asian or Asian British: Chinese751051180.12220.3164Asian or Asian British: Other Asian801371460.26860.8549Black or Black British: Total1542161210.1%2110.2%326Black or Black British: African5366720.1760.1180Black or Black British: Caribbean3045370.01200.195Black or Black British: Other Black71105120.0150.051Mixed or British Mixed: Total––––6309761.1%1,505Mixed: White and Black Caribbean––––1300.12280.3191Mixed: White and Black African––––780.1900.1165Mixed: White and Asian––––3320.44760.5826Mixed: Other Mixed––––900.11820.2323Other: Total139202932400.3%778Other: Arab––––––550.1157Other: Any other ethnic group930.11850.2621Non-White: Total3,1813.5%5,2135.7%7,37111,00516,539Total90,936100%92,201100%89,542100%87,059100%94,651100%
Economy
There are several industrial estates and business parks within the borough of varying ages and sizes. The largest are:
Burnley Bridge Business Park A new development in Hapton parish, to the south of Padiham. It is connected to Junction 9 of the M65 motorway via a bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Network 65 Business Park Also located in Hapton on the western side of Burnley, on the south side of M65 Junction 9. Owned by Burnley Council, occupiers include GlenDimplex. Rossendale Road Industrial Estate Located in Habergham Eaves on the western side of Burnley, occupiers include The Original Factory Shop, Warburtons and VEKA. The AMS Technology Park has been developed here, focused on advanced technology manufacturers, principally AMS Neve. Heasandford Industrial Estate Situated on the eastern side of Burnley crossing into Briercliffe, occupiers include boohoo.com and Safran Aircelle. It has seen recent expansion with the Innovation Drive development. Shuttleworth Mead Business Park Located west of Padiham, on the former Padiham Power Station site (closed 1993). Occupiers include Graham and Brown and Whatmore UK.
There are also a number of smaller sites throughout historically industrial parts of Burnley. Burnham Gate Trading Estate was the site of Duckett's earthen sanitary ware works. Smallshaw & Chestnut Business Park was built over part of the railway sidings connected with Rose Grove railway station. Elm Street and Gannow Business Parks along with Healeywood Industrial Estate all incorporate converted Victorian cotton mill buildings. Empire Business Park, located between Rosegrove and Lowerhouse also opened in 2008.
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