Chorley is a gateway and a destination
Chorley is a town with ambition, and boasts skills and attributes to make good, says Vincents Solicitors’ Claire Hamilton.
Chorley could be forgiven for thinking it was the forgotten town, its potential as a business location perhaps overlooked in the past. Happily, that perception is beginning to shift, thanks to the enormous efforts of the council, the town’s businesses and Choose Chorley, whose recent business growth event we co-sponsored.
The town is full of new development, regeneration, and opportunity. Excitement is building for the new cinema and retail complex, while the outskirts are increasingly becoming home to a host of logistics providers.
Positioned right on the motorway and the West Coast mainline, it is ideal to access the North West’s major business hubs via road or rail, and easily on to Yorkshire, Scotland or the South.
Within the town are many businesses working with clients across the country and internationally, as well as serving the ever growing local community.
And the vast amount of residential development has brought thousands more families into the local area, which can only be good news for our retail, food, professional service and community-orientated businesses.
A progressive local authority is prioritising economic growth and the support for new businesses and start-ups is astonishing. And the take up, from young entrepreneurs and older business heads alike, is heartening.
Every one of these brave business people is using their talent and determination to create jobs and wealth for the local economy, and the creativity and ambition of those taking the plunge must be acknowledged.
I am Chorley born and bred, but taking over Vincents Chorley office is the first time I have worked in the town. It is an exciting time and there is a real buzz, I see no limit to the town’s ambitions.
We were delighted to sponsor the recent Choose Chorley business event. It was a huge success, attended by both new businesses and the more long-established. There was huge positivity from everyone about the town and the opportunities it offers, and there is an awful lot of pride from those who do business and live here.
Lindsey Hoyle MP spoke with real passion about the town and upcoming regeneration plans, along with Alistair Bradley from Chorley Borough Council. They both discussed the much anticipated extension to the Market Walk Shopping centre and Strawberry Fields, a new digital hub providing high quality office space. They mentioned other regeneration plans including commercial developments in and around the town centre, the aim of which is of course to promote a much needed boost to the economic growth in the local area.
It was great to meet other businesses in our town, find out about what they do, and how we could work with them. We very much enjoyed the questions and answers session with an expert panel and got the chance to listen to the most inspiring man, guest speaker Colin Jackson, Olympic medallist and World Record holder. A true inspiration whose hard work and determination paid off. That was a great message for all of us to take away from the event.
Picture caption: Julie Wilson from Abrams Ashton (left) and Claire Hamilton, head of Vincents Chorley office (right) with Olympic legend Colin Jackson