17th August 2012:

OA North’s major survey of Lancashire’s textile mills has just achieved a benchmark stage, and data that will prove invaluable for local authorities and other agencies when prioritising their time and resource to better care for and manage Lancashire’s outstanding industrial heritage have just been released.

The survey, which has been commissioned by English Heritage as part of their ongoing commitment to securing a future for Lancashire’s industrial heritage, has discovered that there are currently 540 historic textile-manufacturing sites surviving in the county, with approximately 47,000,000 square feet of industrial floor space. This survey has also made it possible, for the first time, to understand and compare the significance and value of surviving textile sites across the whole of Lancashire, enabling those that are particularly important and which merit statutory designation to be identified.

It is hoped that the research will encourage developers and mill owners in the county to consider how these important buildings can be re-developed so that they once again play a central role in the local distinctiveness and economy of Lancashire’s communities. It is also intended that the data will lead on to initiatives that look ahead and explore creative new solutions for these magnificent local landmarks.