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Limitless Public Relations

Plans approved for £40 million ‘Altura’ – Lancashire’s tallest residential tower block in Preston

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Property developer TSS Property Ltd has been given the green light to develop a 30-storey apartment block with 218 residential units, which would be the tallest residential building in Lancashire.

Designed by David Cox Architects and branded Altura, the proposed tower will be located near the Harris Quarter, which is currently undergoing a £200 million regeneration programme.

The scheme is situated between Lords Walk and Carlisle Street in the city centre and has undergone a rigorous design process, including three RIBA Places Matter Design Reviews, each of which enhances the building’s function as a key landmark for Preston.

Steven Gallagher at David Cox Architects added: “As a Preston-based practice, we take great pride in contributing to a project of this ambition, which reflects both the city’s confidence and its aspirations for the future.”

TSS Property is currently delivering City Walk, a £20m build-to-rent development comprising 122 apartments on Lords Walk. TSS anticipates work on Altura could begin in 2027.

Altura will also offer 6,700 sq ft of commercial and office space alongside a communal lounge and gym. In addition, the plans will enhance the public realm and street scene in the area by introducing a shared surface and a pedestrian-friendly environment.  

Planning permission is also granted subject to a legal agreement which comprises a financial contribution of £553,000 towards affordable housing and £16,000 for employment skills monitoring. 

Deborah Smith of S&L Planning Consultants, which advised TSS Property Ltd on planning matters, said: “The project will deliver a highly sustainable, landmark development in a key city-centre location, making efficient use of brownfield land while supporting economic growth, housing delivery, and active travel.

“The approval of this project also reflects the collaborative work undertaken with Preston City Council to ensure the scheme responds positively to both planning policy and the city’s long-term regeneration ambitions.

“It will be fantastic to see this project come to fruition and help contribute to the evolving skyline of Preston.”

Ignore them at your peril: why local newspapers are HOT news for national GEO

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Think targeting local newspapers for PR and marketing is “old school”? Sorry for the playground flipperoo, but you’re old school.

The rise of LLM (large language model) powered search, entity-based ranking, and location-aware AI, has flipped the script, making local media one of the most strategically valuable assets in modern PR and discoverability.

While many brands have responded by doubling down on national coverage and high authority digital outlets, there’s an interesting part of the jigsaw many are missing – including national brands.

Not only do LLMs and AI search engines treat local media as a high trust, high signal source of geographic and contextual truth, they also take into account the location of the searcher in the results they give.

That means local media is no longer just the traditional option – it actually can be the technically superior one. And national companies that ignore it are actively handicapping their performance in AI driven search.

Geographical priority

Modern search is increasingly location aware, even when users don’t explicitly ask for local results. LLMs infer location context automatically, and they prioritise entities that have verified local relevance.

Local media becomes disproportionately powerful because it reinforces your brand’s entity graph: who you are, what you do, and where you operate. Local media mentions act as high trust confirmations of your location, service area, relevance to a region, and connection to local audiences.

LLMs use these signals to decide which businesses to show in answers. Local citations remain a top ranking factor. Studies consistently show that local citations and local authority signals are among the strongest drivers of local visibility, and these signals now feed directly into AI-driven search behaviour. Local media is one of the highest authority citation sources available.

Ofcom’s Review of Local Media in the UK (2024) highlights that local outlets remain a primary source of trusted information for communities. Search engines treat this trust as a ranking signal because local journalism provides verified, geographically anchored facts, exactly the kind of data LLMs use to avoid hallucinations.

Relevant content

National brands benefit too. LLMs don’t just look for “the biggest brand”, they look for the most locally relevant brand. A national company with local media coverage in multiple regions builds a wider, stronger entity graph than a competitor with only national coverage.

Local media scales your relevance across the map. Traditional SEO relies on backlinks, keywords, and structured data. Whereas LLMs rely on entity relationships, geographic context, trust signals, narrative consistency, and corroboration across sources. Local media strengthens all five.

LLMs prioritise high trust, low noise sources. Local journalism has lower content volume but higher editorial scrutiny, making it disproportionately valuable for LLM training and retrieval that means LLMs need to anchor information to real world facts.

Local reporting provides verified names, locations, activities, and community impact, exactly the type of data LLMs use to determine whether your business is relevant to a query.

Local coverage increases your surface area in AI search. Every local article creates a new entity connection, a new geographic association, and a new contextual anchor. This increases the number of queries for which an LLM can confidently include your brand.

National coverage builds broad authority: local coverage builds contextual authority. Together, they create a two-layer visibility effect: national media establishes brand level authority and helps LLMs understand who you are, while local media establishes geographic and contextual authority and helps LLMs decide when to surface you.

Amplifying impact through local media

This combination is extremely powerful for multi-location businesses, national brands with regional operations, B2B companies serving specific geographies, public-facing organisations, and any company wanting to dominate AI search results. Local media doesn’t replace national PR, it amplifies it.

And on top of the LLMs, human trust still matters too. Research from Reach plc and PA Consulting shows that 63% of people trust local journalists more than national outlets, and 87% actively seek trustworthy sources. Ofcom’s review highlights that local outlets remain central to people’s daily information habits.

Local citations and regional authority all benefit from local coverage. These are meaningful advantages, but they are bonuses compared to the LLM impact.

If your PR strategy focuses only on national media, you are missing one of the most powerful levers for AI-driven visibility. Local media is now a technical asset, not just a storytelling channel. Brands that invest in local coverage will appear more often in LLM answers, rank higher in local and national AI search, build stronger entity authority, outperform competitors in region specific queries, and scale their visibility across multiple geographies. Local media is the new multiplier for AI-era PR. Ignore it at your peril!

From visibility to credibility: how PR wins where ads can’t

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Anyone can purchase ads to get views and clicks. And a clever ad campaign, with a decent budget, can make sure your brand is launched into the digital sphere and win you clicks. But what comes after the click? How confident does the customer feel they have arrived in the right place? Is yours a brand they already know and trust?  You’ve won the click, but are have they got the confidence to actually buy, if this is the first they have heard of you. Or would they be wise to shop around a little more first?

This is where PR enters the picture. Public relations doesn’t just share your message: it builds credibility, strengthens reputation, and ensures your brand’s voice lands with the right people at the right time – usually before they even arrive at your website with a mind to buy.

Businesses that underestimate the power in PR risk spending cash on clicks but still losing customers to competitors who have invested in brand as well as click bids.

Limits of paid media?

Paid ads are great for grabbing attention, and fast. But attention on its own isn’t enough. You need more. As the generation of social media consumers, we endlessly – and mindlessly – scroll past ads and content, and then it’s gone. Research shows that audiences are increasingly sceptical of paid messages, with a quarter of the public actively distrusting ads. Spending big budgets on ads doesn’t guarantee lasting influence. Ads can deliver reach, but reach without trust is just noise.

What PR does differently

PR is earned, not bought. Coverage in newspapers, magazines, podcasts, and credible online outlets carries weight because it comes from a third party. People choose to engage with it. They read the story, digest the context, and most importantly, they trust the source.

Beyond trust, PR creates depth of engagement. A feature article, an expert quote, or a well-timed press release gives your audience a reason to think and connect with your brand. This is the opposite of the doomscroll – it’s attention that lasts.

In today’s rapidly travelling digital sphere, earned media doesn’t just reach humans. AI-powered search engines rely on reputable journalism to generate credible content. Your brand’s credibility goes beyond surface visuals, with AI shaping how content is discovered by algorithms in ways that ads can’t.

PR in action

In the UK, national news brands reach around 24 million adults daily. That’s comparable with major broadcast channels. While fewer people may pick up a newspaper than say a decade ago, those who do are giving more time and attention than a quick social scroll ever demands.

Small businesses and big brands alike have leveraged PR to punch above their weight, earning coverage that increases awareness, positions them as experts, and drives real engagement, all without the huge cost of paid ad campaigns.

Why do businesses still underinvest?

Despite the many advantages, many smaller companies underinvest in PR and wonder what’s hindering their growth. Reasons for this range from cost, measuring concerns, and the reliance on ads. But strategic PR is measurable.

Final thoughts

Visibility is cheap, but credibility is priceless. PR converts exposure into trust, influence, and authority that turbocharge ad performance along with all marketing channels.

For businesses serious about growth, investing in PR isn’t optional. It’s a strategic move that boosts sales and supports long term growth.

Want to find out more? Drop Michael Gregory a message and see how we can work together to help your business grow

New Chair for Lancaster University’s Engineering Industry Advisory Board

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Lancaster University’s School of Engineering has appointed Andy Davy as the new Chair for its Industry Advisory Board.

The Industry Advisory Board (IAB) brings together employers and professional bodies to advise on teaching and research priorities, feed skills needs into curriculum planning, and support student placements and internships. It also provides external input to accreditation and wider engagement activity, helping ensure graduates’ capabilities match sector demand and creating clear routes for companies, including SMEs, to collaborate with the School.

A long-standing member of the board, Andy Davy is Group Operations Manager at Lancaster-based Like Technologies, which provides specialist electronic and control-system support to clients across the nuclear and advanced engineering sectors, including obsolescence management and equipment repair.

In his role as Chair, Andy will lead twice-yearly IAB meetings and work with the IAB co-ordinator, Chris Lambert to agree agendas and formats. He will also review minutes and represent the board at formal engagements such as accreditation visits.

On his appointment as Chair, he said: “Chairing the board is about turning employer insight into practical outcomes. Feeding into the curriculum, helping to ensure the teaching provides the students with the knowledge, skills and behaviours that add value for local firms. That two-way flow helps students hit the ground running and gives businesses a straightforward route into the School when they need skills or fresh ideas.” 

Chris Lambert, Director of Engagement, School of Engineering, Lancaster University, said: “We very much welcome Andy as Chair of the board. His deep, front-line, industry experience and knowledge will help guide the board in its role as a sounding-board for curriculum relevance, accreditation and employability. Its members’ perspectives shape modules, open up internships and placement year roles, and guide where our engagement will have most impact.”

Think nobody reads the paper anymore? Think again

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Does anybody else feel the sight of Prince Harry and Liz Hurley raging against newspaper intrusion comes across as fighting a battle from a war long ended?

Surely in a world of deepfake memes being pumped out by the White House itself, bothering what the papers say seems rather out of step? And who reads the papers nowadays anyway?

It’s true that fewer people in the UK rely on newspapers for news than they once did. Ofcom’s latest data shows that around half of adults used newspaper newsbrands in 2018, compared with roughly a third today. While that sounds like a big drop – and it is – it’s also easy to misunderstand what that figure actually describes, in context.

As Harry and Liz will tell you, the newspaper brands once ruled the world – almost literally. So, though they have dropped in circulation overall, at 33% of adults, their audience is still undeniably very significant.

Industry measurement via PAMCo shows national newsbrands reaching around 24 million people every day. That’s a mass audience, comparable with major broadcast channels and far larger than many of the audiences truthfully claimed in digital campaigns.

What matters even more than scale, though, is attention. Reading a newspaper, whether online or in actual print, is a deliberate act. It involves choosing a destination, allocating time, and engaging with longer-form material. That is a very different behaviour from encountering content while scrolling.

Social platforms have redefined what “reach” means, and not always in ways that are actually meaningful. A “view” can simply mean that something appeared on screen for a moment.

Newspaper environments operate on a different logic. UK adults still spend around an hour a day consuming news. And quality newspaper journalism remains central to providing explanation, context, and original reporting. While fewer people use newspaper brands than before, those who do are typically giving them more time and more cognitive effort than a social feed ever demands.

There is also a newer audience that is yet to be properly factored into debates about readership. AI-powered search and answer engines increasingly rely on trusted journalism to generate responses, summaries, and citations. Partnerships such as OpenAI’s work with the Financial Times, and early evidence from AI-powered search results, show that established newsbrands are heavily favoured sources.

Newspapers are now read not just by people, but by the systems shaping how information is discovered. Maybe you don’t read a newspaper yourself. But your AI search bot certainly does – alongside millions of other people – every day.

And the attention they together give is intentional, contextual, and trusted, in a way that most social metrics simply do not capture.

In the PR world, that matters. Newspapers may no longer dominate quite like they did in the past. But compared to other sources, they are about quality of audience, depth of engagement, and credibility that travels further, lasting longer than a fleeting view. And, in an attention economy, that’s where the value remains.

Trident Utilities appoints new head of procurement 

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Blackpool-based energy consultancy Trident Utilities has strengthened its leadership team as the business positions itself for its next phase of growth. 

As part of the changes, Alexandra Mottershead has been promoted to Head of Procurement & Supplier Services. Alex joined Trident in March 2022, at the height of the energy crisis, bringing a decade of experience in the energy consultancy sector. 

After graduating from the University of Manchester with a degree in Atmospheric Physics, Alex joined the industry as a fixed procurement analyst and has since built extensive expertise across risk management, trading, procurement, and supplier relations. 

Trident Utilities

In her new role, Alex will lead Trident’s risk management, trading, procurement, and supplier services functions. Her team is responsible for strategically procuring energy for customers by balancing individual organisational priorities and risks with market opportunities and net-zero objectives.  

This includes managing both fixed-term contracts and flexibly traded procurement strategies, as well as overseeing fixed and flexible Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for generators to maximise revenues while mitigating operational risk. 

Alex’s team also includes Trident’s non-commodity specialists, who provide vital updates to customers on charging, policy, and regulatory changes that may impact future energy costs. 

Alexandra Mottershead, head of procurement & supplier services, said: 

“I’m really proud to be stepping into this role at such an important moment for the energy sector.  

“My focus is on making sure organisations have the clarity and confidence they need to make informed energy decisions that support both commercial resilience and their journey to net zero. I’m also genuinely excited to be leading such a talented team as we continue to strengthen our procurement and risk management capabilities.” 

Andy Curry, head of client services, added: “Everything we do at Trident is grounded in strong data and sound science, and Alex brings a rare combination of both. Her deep understanding of the science, alongside more than a decade of hands-on industry experience, is invaluable for our clients and adds real strength to our wider leadership team. 

“Alex’s perspective will further strengthen our ability to help clients make informed, long-term strategic decisions as they seek to lock in energy efficiencies and cost savings on the path to net zero.” 

Link strategies in PR: what really matters in the age of AI search

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

How backlinks, brand mentions and smart PR can work together for SEO and GEO

For as long as search engines have existed, links have been the part of the currency of visibility. When Google’s PageRank algorithm launched in the late 1990s, it treated links as “votes of confidence” – the more quality sites that linked to you, the more important you looked.

That logic turned link-building into an industry. In the early 2000s, SEO was dominated by tactics focused almost entirely on volume: link farms, article directories, reciprocal linking schemes and worse. Over time, Google cracked down with major updates (like Penguin) and shifted the emphasis from more links to better links: relevant, authoritative, earned.

Today, we’re going through another shift. AI-powered and generative search tools are changing how people discover brands. Instead of a list of blue links, users increasingly see summarised answers with a handful of citations – often drawn from trusted media and high-authority sites. Research into Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) finds that generative search has a strong bias towards earned media and third-party sources – more so than traditional Google search.

So where does that leave link strategies in PR? Are backlinks still worth chasing? And how should SMEs think about links in press releases and media coverage in 2026?

A quick history: from any link will do – to authority signals everywhere

To understand where we are now, it’s worth briefly revisiting how we got here:

  • Early 2000s – the link gold rush
    Once PageRank became widely understood, SEOs realised that external links could push sites up the rankings. The result was a flood of low-quality tactics: link exchanges, spam directories, keyword-stuffed articles. Quantity often trumped quality.
  • 2010s – Google fights back
    Google rolled out a series of algorithm updates that targeted manipulative links, rewarding sites that earned links from relevant, trustworthy sources and penalising those relying on spam or paid schemes. The message was clear: natural, editorially-given links equals good; manufactured links equals bad.
  • 2020s – authority, context and brand matter more
    Modern SEO guidance consistently stresses that backlinks still matter – in fact, they remain one of the strongest signals of authority and trust. But the weight has shifted towards fewer, higher-quality links from relevant domains, supported by strong content and clear brand signals.

In parallel, AI-driven search has arrived. Large language models and generative engines don’t crawl the web in quite the same way as Google’s link graph. They infer authority from patterns in text, entity relationships and, crucially, the sources they choose to cite. Studies suggest that generative engines lean heavily on earned media and high-authority sites when deciding what to surface.

That means our concept of “link strategy” needs to widen. Traditional backlinks are still important – but they now sit alongside brand citations, mentions and context as part of a wider authority picture.

Links vs brand citations: what really matters now?

So, are links less important than they used to be? Recent analysis from SEO and GEO specialists paints a consistent picture:

  • Backlinks are still extremely powerful for SEO
    Quality backlinks are still among the top ranking signals for Google, especially as part of E-E-A-T.
  • AI search values mentions and citations as much as the link itself
    Large language models pay close attention to where and how your brand is mentioned, and which sources are talking about you.
  • Earned media plays an outsized role
    GEO research suggests that a high proportion of citations in AI answers come from earned media – the kind of coverage PR delivers.

The emerging consensus is that it’s not a choice between backlinks and AI citations. Both matter, but in different ways.

In practical terms for SMEs:

  • Links from credible media and relevant websites still help your organic rankings.
  • Brand mentions and citations in trusted outlets help you show up in AI summaries.
  • PR is one of the few disciplines that can drive both at once.

So yes – links are still valuable. But PR strategies now need to think in terms of authority signals, not just getting links.

Links in press releases: what to expect (and what not to)

This is where expectations can get misaligned. Many businesses assume that if they stuff a press release with keyword-rich links and push it out via a distribution service, they’ll get an SEO bump.

That’s not how it works. The key reason is it doesn’t matter what you put in your press release so much as what the journalist who publishes it keeps in.

Sensible expectations for clients

1. Include links – but for readers, not robots
Include homepage links, product pages, or campaign pages. They help journalists find what they need. If they think it’s valuable for the reader to keep them in, they might do. But this should not be an expectation. It should be seen as a bonus to the citation and brand-building value of the story.

2. Editors may strip or modify them
Newsrooms may remove links, change anchor text, or automatically add no-follow in their CMS. This is something you just have to accept. Journalists are not there to market your business. Never ever ask a hard news journalist to add a link to your coverage. It’s the equivalent of asking a policeman to pop to McDonald’s for you. It shows a deeply disrespectful, and potentially dangerous misunderstanding of their role in the world. 

3. Don’t over-optimise text
Overly keyword-stuffed text might work against you. If you describe your business as a “tax efficiency strategist and financial services and solutions provider” a journalist will just change that to “accountancy firm” if they know that’s what you actually are, or just bin the release because they cannot be bothered working out what you actually do. Use natural phrasing and brand names.

4. The real SEO value is in actual coverage – not hosting on newswires
The press release might be optimised to the hilt, but will have zero affect on rankings if it is not published. The value comes when journalists write a story off the back of your release and choose to link voluntarily.

PR tactics that make journalists want to link

If you want journalists to keep your links in – and even better, add their own – the question becomes: Have we given them a good reason to link? There are ways to do this, but they require dedicated extra effort and possibly investment. Options include: 

Create data or insight hubs

  • Commission a survey, publish full results and methodology, and use the press release to highlight key findings while linking to the full data. Editors will often link when it adds genuine value.

Build evergreen resources and explainers

  • Create: industry benchmarks, plain-English explainers, toolkits or glossaries. If these resources are helpful, journalists have a clear incentive to link.

Offer visual or interactive assets

  • Examples: calculators, interactive maps, downloadable tools. If the full interactive experience is only available on your website, journalists are much more likely to link.

Make your content machine-readable as well as human-friendly

  • Clear structure, headings, descriptions, and schema markup make it easier for both search engines and generative AI to understand and cite your content.

This is where PR, SEO and GEO intersect. 

  • PR earns the coverage
  • SEO ensures the linked-to content is technically strong
  • GEO benefits when your brand is consistently cited in trusted sources

What this means for PR strategy for SMEs

For SMEs, the takeaway isn’t links don’t matter anymore: it’s far from it, but links alone are not the goal – authority is.

In practical terms:

  • Treat links as a by-product of doing PR well.
  • Build campaigns that generate editorial coverage and host link-worthy assets.
  • Include links in press releases, but set realistic expectations about how editors will handle them.
  • Invest in content that journalists and AI search tools both regard as useful and trustworthy.

Get this right, and you’ll build a visibility engine that works across traditional SEO, AI-powered search and human audiences. Links will still matter – but alongside brand citations, earned media and genuine authority.

BAKO named ‘Supplier of the Year’ at awards

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Preston-based BAKO, has been named Supplier of the Year at the prestigious 2025 Baking Industry Awards, at the Royal Lancaster in London.

Now in their 38th year, the Baking Industry Awards are the UK’s foremost celebration of excellence across the baking sector, from artisan bakers and large-scale manufacturers to suppliers, retailers, and innovators.

This year’s event welcomed more than 600 guests from across the industry for an evening honouring the best and brightest in British baking.

BAKO took home the inaugural Supplier of the Year title, with judges praising the company’s unwavering commitment to serving the baking community, significant business growth, and strategic innovation.

BAKO’s recent acquisition of Finlay’s Foods, expanding its reach across the UK and Ireland, was highlighted as a major step forward, alongside its sustained investment in operational efficiency, sustainability initiatives, and industry development.

Mike Tully, chief executive of BAKO said:

“This award is a tremendous honour and a reflection of the dedication of our teams across the UK and Ireland.

“At BAKO, everything we do is guided by our ‘by bakers for bakers’ ethos. We’re proud to support the industry we love, from local independents to national brands, with quality, service, and innovation.

“Winning Supplier of the Year at such a respected event reinforces our belief that partnership and passion truly make a difference.”

Amy North, British Baker editor, said:

“BAKO is a worthy winner of British Baker’s first-ever Supplier of the Year trophy at the Baking Industry Awards.

“Its longstanding commitment to and influential role within the baking industry deserves recognition, and our panel of judges praised the level of energy put into every aspect of the business from investments in efficiency to supporting the future of the industry, and steps on its sustainability journey.

“BAKO truly is living up to its motto of ‘by bakers for bakers.”

Founded over 60 years ago, BAKO operates from its head office in Preston, with regional headquarters in Durham, Wimbledon, and Ireland, allowing it to provide nationwide coverage and local expertise to bakeries of all sizes.

The business has grown to become one of the UK and Ireland’s leading bakery ingredient and supply specialists, offering an extensive range of products and services designed to help the baking industry thrive.

The Baking Industry Awards are organised by British Baker magazine and celebrate excellence across 14 categories, recognising individuals, teams, and businesses driving the sector forward.

For more information about Bako, visit www.bako.co.uk

Lancashire Growth Plan maps £20bn+ investment opportunity

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) has today published a Growth Plan that sets out how the county will build on its position as one of the UK’s leading economic powerhouses and deliver growth between 2025 and 2035, with a strategic focus on exploiting the potential of five high-growth business sectors around existing and proposed ‘transformational’ projects. 

Developed by the LCCA and championed by the Lancashire Business Board (LBB), the plan identifies a pipeline of major projects with the potential to attract more than £20bn of additional public and private investment. Together, these projects could create thousands of high-value jobs and strengthen Lancashire’s role at the heart of the national economy.

Following consultation with sector groups, business organisations, enterprises, local authorities, universities, colleges and MPs, the plan champions Lancashire’s interests nationally and internationally to deliver its priorities by attracting investment in innovation, infrastructure and workforce development, making the county a prime destination for global capital, venture funding, and research and development. 

Mo Isap, chair of Lancashire Business Board, comprising senior members of the county’s foremost regional, national and international firms to champion Lancashire and bring a private sector perspective to policy decisions, said:

“We brought our DNA to the development of the Lancashire Growth Plan, ensuring it builds on existing excellence in sectors while showing that we can deliver a step change in economic performance benefits not just the county, but the UK. 

“Our private sector expertise and perspective continue to inform the plan, but also strategies on transport, infrastructure, strategic development, and collaboration, detailing that Lancashire continues to be well-positioned to attract new private investment in key growth sectors.

“This prospectus showcases how Lancashire, aligned with government economic objectives, is contributing to the nation’s economic growth and that we are well positioned to play a significant role in UK plc.”

Cllr Stephen Atkinson, Chair of Lancashire Combined County Authority, said:

“This is a plan built in Lancashire, for Lancashire, but with national impact. It reflects the scale of our ambition, the strength of our business leadership, and our determination to deliver transformational projects that create opportunities across our communities and boost the UK economy.”

The vision focuses on exploiting the potential of five high-growth business sectors: National Security and Resilience, Clean Growth and a Nuclear Renaissance, Digital and Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence, and Culture and Tourism

Highlights of the Growth Plan

High-growth sectors and economic corridors

  • Growth focused on five sectors central to Lancashire’s economy and the UK’s future.
  • Development of the Central Belt (M55–M65 corridor), connecting Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn and Burnley.
  • Expansion of the North–South Cyber Corridor, linking Lancaster, Samlesbury and Manchester.
  • Investment in east–west transport to connect and strengthen clusters.

Flagship projects with investment potential:

Samlesbury Enterprise Zone and Innovation Hub – can enable transformational economic growth for all of Lancashire. Designed to support advanced engineering and manufacturing, hi-tech and research-led sectors, including cyber and robotics, the 120-acre site is primed to become a hub of world-class innovation, Industry 4.0 processes, and disruptive R&D. 

Warton Enterprise Zone (EZ), featuring the University of Lancashire’s Altitude facility – uniting industry, entrepreneurs, academic and government institutions to advance next-generation technology and skills capability in the exploitation of future aviation and space markets. The site includes the defence and technology leader BAE Systems, alongside Altitude, which pioneers a cluster of future air and space technology. 

Heysham Nuclear Power Stations – a cornerstone of Lancashire’s energy infrastructure, providing secure, low-carbon power and sustaining hundreds of skilled jobs. 

Springfields (Westinghouse UK) – manufacturing world-class nuclear fuel and related products for almost 75 years. The 80-hectare site is one of the most advanced nuclear fuel-generating facilities in the world. 

Blackburn Cyber Skills and Education Campus and Innovation Quarter – key to the delivery of a £250m investment framework for Blackburn Town Centre, the most significant development of its kind in the North West. Public investment has been secured for the first phase of the Campus, valued at £60m, including a high-quality office and teaching facility, offering up to 100,000 sq ft of new space, and a 15,000 sq ft cyber business centre. The site is the closest strategic development to the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone – making Blackburn an integral part of the Government’s North West Cyber Corridor between Lancaster and Manchester. 

Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone (EZ) and Silicon Sands – with more than 2,600 jobs achieved, and an estimated £300m of additional private sector development potential, 25 acres of newly unlocked commercial land is primed for development for commercial use at the EZ’s Eastern Gateway. The EZ includes the groundbreaking Silicon Sands project with the potential to become a Strategic AI and Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Hub for Lancashire and an AI growth zone. The EZ is on the North Atlantic Loop, a transatlantic fibre artery connecting America and Europe with the fastest speeds. 

Blackpool Central Leisure Development – the seven-hectare former Central Station site is one of Blackpool’s most strategically essential development sites, and central to the ambition of developing a unique world-class tourist destination with a vision to provide a unique leisure quarter which underpins Blackpool’s appeal as a national tourist destination. 

Morecambe Seafront and the Eden Effect – Morecambe, and the wider North Lancs area, will directly benefit from the Eden Project Morecambe. Conceived by the team behind the Eden Project in Cornwall, the 36-acre development was given the green light by the Government in March 2023, along with £50m of Levelling Up funding, to allow work to commence on the £100m project. 

Preston Station Quarter – Investment in Preston is driven by the 10-year City Investment Plan, a long-term vision to transform the city with close to £1bn already invested or committed. Preston is undergoing a dramatic transformation, capitalising on the nearby National Cyber Force HQ, to create major opportunities for commercial development and city living. The Preston Station Quarter Strategic Regeneration Framework encompasses 43 hectares of Grade A offices, high-density housing, and high-quality public realm. 

Burnley Town Centre and Canalside Masterplan – Burnley’s £200m masterplan is unlocking significant investment in education, canalside living, and digi-tech innovation, helping to transform the town into a vibrant hub for health, engineering, and AI-driven growth. 

Strategic Rail Programme – transforming east-west rail connectivity across Lancashire’s Central Belt will unlock growth in urban centres, expand labour markets, and improve access to education, employment and investment.  

Talbot Gateway Skills and Education Campus (Multiversity) – with phase 1 of the Blackpool and The Fylde College Multiversity set for completion in 2027, plans are underway for Phase 2, an ambitious expansion into the Talbot Gateway Central Business District to create a dynamic skills and education campus. 

The Plan recognises the importance of public services, civil society and health and social care, promoting inclusive employment, cultural development and community wellbeing as essential contributors to economic growth.

 The Growth Plan is now available to stakeholders, investors and government on the LCCA website. It provides a framework for Lancashire’s future development ahead of a formal launch opportunity later this year.

Young Bakers’ festive creations head for national launch with BAKO

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

BAKO has unveiled the results of its first Young Bakers initiative, a new collaboration with Coleg Cambria and Wrights Food Group designed to inspire the next generation of bakers.

The project has delivered three festive products: an Irish Coffee Slice layered with coffee caramel and an Irish liqueur cream, a Black Forest Slice reimagined for modern tastes, and a savoury chicken, brie and cranberry Festive Slice. All three will launch to customers from 1 September 2025.

A percentage of profits from the sales will be reinvested into a dedicated fund for future projects, ensuring the Young Bakers Initiative continues to support young talent year after year. The project is supported by the Craft Bakers Association & The Worshipful Company of Bakers

The idea for the initiative originated from discussions at Coleg Cambria about how to connect education more closely with industry. With BAKO and Wrights keen to support the next generation of bakers, the partnership came together quickly and provided the perfect platform to launch the project.

Students on the Level 3 Diploma in Baking Proficiency course, Naomi Spaven 29, and Ella Muddiman, 25, also both finalists in the BIA (Baking Industry Awards) Rising Star Awards, were given a live New Product Development (NPD) brief: to create both a sweet and a savoury festive product. 

Working in their college bakery, they brainstormed, tested, and refined a series of recipes before presenting them to BAKO and Wrights.

The pair then spent time at Wrights’ factory, learning how to adapt their bakery recipes into large-scale production. Cost, consistency, and capability all had to be factored in, giving them valuable experience of the realities of NPD in a commercial environment. They were also involved in the product photography, artwork, and sales presentations, gaining a full view of how a new product moves from idea to market.

Naomi Spaven, from Mold, said: “Taking part in this project has been such a brilliant experience, it’s completely different to the artisan baking I’d done before. Seeing how products are developed on such a huge scale has been mind-blowing, from watching the production lines in action to understanding the journey from concept through to completion, being able to see it all first-hand was fascinating.

“For me, one of the highlights was the creative side, decorating the cakes and experimenting with different toppings and flavours. It was amazing to see how each of us came up with something unique, and then to see the professional photography really bring those ideas to life. At the same time, I learned so much about the more technical side of baking, especially costings, and how to balance flavour with affordability. With things like cocoa prices rising so quickly, it was a real challenge to find ways of keeping products delicious while still being commercially viable.

“The whole project has broadened my view of the industry and shown me how many opportunities there are beyond day-to-day baking. I love the hands-on side of what I do, but this has also inspired me to think about teaching and passing on my passion to the next generation. I really want young people to see that there are so many different career paths in baking, from artisan bakeries to large-scale production and new product development. It’s made me even more certain that I’m in the right industry, and I feel really excited about the future.”

Nicola Goodwill, Senior Trading Manager at BAKO, said: “This is about more than launching three new festive lines. It’s about showing young people that their creativity has a place in this industry and that their ideas can go all the way to market. Naomi and Ella have been outstanding, and we hope this becomes the first of many Young Bakers projects, building an annual programme to inspire students across the UK.”

Ella Muddiman, 24, from Chester, described the experience as transformative: “I’ve loved every step of this project. At college, you usually bake something, and it ends there, but this gave me the chance to see the whole process. From brainstorming and trialling different flavours, to adapting the recipes at Wrights so they would actually work in production, it was a huge learning curve. The challenge of making something viable for scale, especially on cost, was tough but really rewarding. I especially enjoyed the flavour trials; experimenting with combinations and finding what worked best. To know that something I helped create will be on sale this Christmas is just incredible. It proves young bakers really can make a difference, and I hope it shows others that they can too.”

Anthony Choi, Senior Commercial Manager – Foodservice Wholesale at Wrights, said: “At Wrights, we’re passionate about inspiring the next generation of bakers, which is why we were delighted to partner with BAKO and Coleg Cambria on this exciting initiative.

“This project gave two talented students a unique and valuable opportunity to work with an expert team and chefs at a leading food manufacturer, experiencing the full NPD journey from concept and recipe development through to large-scale production.

“We were impressed by the creativity and fresh thinking they brought to the table. The reworked savoury Festive Slice was a smart seasonal upgrade, while the Black Forest Slice and Irish Coffee Slice filled a clear gap in the market and complemented BAKO’s existing range beautifully.

“It’s been a fantastic way to bring new ideas into the sector and showcase the potential of young talent. We’re proud to have played a part in helping future bakers shine, and we hope this project continues to inspire and open doors for the next generation.”

Naomi is the winner of the BIA Rising Star Award 2024 and runs the Little Welsh Foodie blog. Ella has just been shortlisted for the 2025 Rising Star Award and works at Iâl Bakery in Wrexham College.

Following the success of this pilot, BAKO plans to repeat the initiative annually. This year’s programme sets aside profits to support future young baker groups, building a sustainable pipeline of bakery talent for the industry.