How We Helped Burnley Build a 10-Year Town Plan in Just 3 Months

We had the privilege of working with Burnley Borough Council, PS Research and the newly formed Town Board to support the development of the Burnley Long-Term Plan – funded through the government’s £20 Long-Term Plan for Towns (LTPT) programme allocation.

Whilst we’re proud of the outcomes – a bold community-backed vision and a locally rooted investment plan – we also wanted to reflect honestly on the process.

What worked, what we’d do differently. And why the shift to the new Plan for Neighbourhoods (PfN) offers an opportunity to go even deeper. 

1. Real change needs time – and PfN gives more of it 

Burnley came into the LTPT with strong foundations.
The town had already secured: 

• £19.9m Levelling Up Fund support
• £3.5m UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocation; and  
• £1.2m Heritage Action Zone funding 

Local institutions were active – from Burnley College and UCLan, to community organisations like Burnley Civic Trust and Mid Pennine Arts, who bring heritage and creativity to life in the town. The Burnley Bondholders network provided a valuable business voice, and there was youth and police engagement too. 

Crucially, PS Research laid the groundwork by leading the first phase of community engagement. Over 1,800 residents took part through a mix of surveys, pop-up events, targeted outreach and community conversations. Importantly, this included asking people to identify their ‘happy places’ in Burnley, giving insights into spaces people most value – from parks and the surrounding countryside to heritage buildings, cafes and public realm. 

This not only informed our understanding of local priorities, but also helped establish a shared language unique to Burnley’s identity. 

Building on that, we worked with sub-groups formed around the programme’s three themes (Safety and Security, High Streets Heritage and Regeneration and Transport and Connectivity), alongside a fourth sub-group to support community engagement to map Burnley’s community, cultural, historic and commercial assets. This became a powerful tool for developing our understanding of and visualising the town’s strengths and identifying opportunities, gaps and overlaps. It also helped different partners see how their existing work connected, and made collaboration feel more grounded and place-specific. 

The quality and breadth of engagement and input from the Burnley community shaped robust early findings and inform the co-development of a Vision, objectives and priority interventions with the sub-groups. 

In the second round of engagement, we tested the vision, objectives and priority interventions. While response levels remained strong, we saw some engagement fatigue begin to emerge – a reflection of the tight timeframes and intensity of activity. People wanted to stay involved, but the speed of process made it difficult for everyone to stay fully engaged throughout. 

That’s why we believe the Plan for Neighbourhoods is a step forward. 

Longer timeframes mean: 

• Engagement can be phased, more inclusive and more creative
• There’s time to build trust and evolve ideas 
• Co-design becomes realistic 

And perhaps most importantly, local energy doesn’t get burned out before delivery even begins. 

2. Co-design is more than a buzzword – but it needs structure 

One of the most effective tools in Burnley was the use of sub-groups linked to the investment themes. 

Each group included people who understood the town from different angles – including community group representatives, business partnerships (Burnley BID), commercial operators such as the shopping centre manager, public transport operators and local residents. 

What made it work? 

Conversations weren’t just ‘what do you think?’ They asked: “What’s possible if we worked on this together? What can we learn from elsewhere?” 

As a result, discussions were rich, particularly around challenging themes such as anti-social behaviour, which quickly turned into a broader conversation about spaces for young people, the role of arts, culture and sport, and opportunities for cross-sector programming. This demonstrated that the solution wasn’t in any one person or organisation’s answer, but in what emerged between them. 

Co-design done well doesn’t just produce a better plan – it builds the relationships needed to deliver it. 

3. How Shared Planning Drives Local Buy-In and Delivery 

One of the most important outcomes from Burnley’s Long-Term Plan wasn’t the document itself – it was the buy-in behind it. 

Because co-design wasn’t just a method. It was a mechanism that got people aligned. 

By shaping the vision, objectives and interventions together – in sub-groups and board workshops – stakeholders saw their fingerprints in the plan.  

• That sense of ownership matters. It means:
  Partners are more likely to stay involved 
• Organisations understand how their priorities connect to wider goals 
• Local stakeholders see where they can lead, not just support 

This is also where the Plan for Neighbourhoods guidance feels like a natural evolution. It reinforces the importance of genuine collaborations and gives places more time to nurture that. The ability to reflect, iterate and deepen engagement means we can move from ‘what needs doing’ to ‘how we do it together’. 

The work in Burnley showed us that a good plan isn’t just well written. It’s held by the people who will deliver it. 

4. What’s Next for Burnley 

With the Plan for Neighbourhoods guidance now live, we’re moving into a new phase – but not starting from scratch. 

We will: 

• Revisit and refine the vision, objectives and interventions to reflect the updated PfN guidance 
• Continue capacity-building work with the Town Board and delivery partners 
• Explore fundraising opportunities 

It will be important to reflect the broader themes set out in the Plan for Neighbourhoods prospects, including health, skills, business and education. These themes didn’t feature explicitly in the LTPT Prospectus but were consistently raised during engagement. We now have the opportunity to revisit these with partners, explore where activity is already happening, and identify how they can be integrated in the next phase of delivery. 

5. Final Thought: Planning That Belongs to People 

The Burnley experience taught us that good planning isn’t about finding all the answers. It’s about making space for people to shape them together. 

With the right structures, honest dialogue and a bit more time, we are excited to build on the existing plan, unlock funding and build ownership, creativity and confidence along the way. 

If you’re working on a plan, let’s take notes. We’re still learning and happy to share what’s helped. 

Let’s Work Together

If you’re developing a neighbourhood or town plan and want to explore what genuine engagement and co-design can look like — we’re here to share what worked in Burnley and support your next steps.

Get in touch Contact us