Pendle Textile Mills Design Code to guide reuse of historic mills

 

Historic England is working with Pendle Borough Council to prepare a design code to guide the reuse of historic textile mills across the area.

The guide will show developers ways to redevelop mill sites to create new homes and business spaces with high-quality design and good conservation practice.

It will set standards of design for developers to meet whilst providing certainty for planning applications.

Historic England is providing funding for the project to unlock the potential of mills for regeneration in Pendle and across England.

The work will showcase how design codes for historic sites can bring them back into use without losing their special value and contribution to local heritage.

Planning and design consultants, Lanpro, in partnership with David Morley Architects, have been commissioned to produce the design code.

Councillor Asjad Mahmood, Leader of Pendle Borough Council, said: “Mills were once powerhouses of the industrial revolution and have shaped the landscape of the north of England.

“Textile mills are an important part of our country’s heritage and fundamental to understanding the history and culture of the communities they sit within.”

Councillor Tom Whipp, who has responsibility for Planning, added:“Hundreds of textile mills still exist in the north, including 93 in Pendle alone, but many are vacant or underused and at risk of loss, threatening local identity.”

The reuse of these impressive sites, whilst retaining as much of their historic character as possible, is a regional priority for Historic England.

Historic England’s Dr David Hampshire said: “Design Codes are advocated by the government to promote successful design that speeds up development whilst celebrating what makes areas like Pendle so special.

“Taking on the redevelopment of a complex historic industrial site like a mill can be challenging even for the most experienced developers, but it can provide huge rewards where it is done carefully.

“The design code will help developers to deliver projects that will breathe life into these historic buildings, whilst ensuring the contribution that Pendle's mills make to each town and village's identity is conserved.

“The code will provide simple, illustrated, design requirements that provide specific guidance for the development of a site or area.”

The code will be developed in collaboration with the local community to provide a framework for heritage-led change and high-quality design to inform the sustainable reuse of historic industrial mills.

The Pendle mills project represents the first time anywhere in England that a group of historic buildings or industrial sites spread across a district has been given a design code to promote their reuse.

The design code will contribute to delivering more housing and jobs using brownfield land whilst preserving the greenbelt, as well as protecting the heritage and identity of communities in the borough.

Key facts:

• There are 93 textile mills in Pendle (2021) and 158 mills in Lancashire.
• This project covers the textile mills of Pendle and will focus on a number of in-depth case studies to aid understanding, including mills in Brierfield, Colne, Nelson and Barnoldswick.
• The National Model Design Code defines a design code as a set of simple, concise, illustrated design requirements that are visual and numerical wherever possible to provide specific, detailed parameters for the physical development of a site or area.