I'd like to meet:
If you're unfamiliar with the town BLACKBURN, here's a quick re-cap of the story so far,
(courtesy of wikipedia)
Blackburn is a large town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine
Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, 8.9 miles (14.3 km) east of the city of
Preston, and 20 miles (32 km) north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Blackburn is
bounded to the south by Darwen, with which it forms the unitary authority area of Blackburn
with Darwen, Blackburn being the administrative centre. At the time of the UK Government's
2001 census, Blackburn had a population of 105,085, whilst the wider borough
had a population of 137,470.
Noted as a former mill town, textiles have been produced in Blackburn since the middle
of the 13th century, when locally produced wool was woven in people's houses. Flemish
weavers who settled in the area during the 14th century helped to develop the industry.
James Hargreaves, inventor of the spinning jenny, was a weaver in Blackburn. The most
rapid period of growth and development in Blackburn's history coincided with the
industrialisation and expansion of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution.
Blackburn was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first industrialised
towns in the world.
The textile sector in Blackburn fell into a terminal decline from the mid-20th century.
Since this time, Blackburn has faced similar challenges to other post-industrial
northern towns, including deindustrialisation, economic deprivation and housing issues.
Since the 1950s the town has experienced significant levels of immigration, particularly
from India and Pakistan, and subsequently has the third highest proportion of
Muslims
in England and Wales and the highest in the United Kingdom outside London.
Blackburn continues to experience strained community relations in some areas. Blackburn
and the town centre in particular has seen significant investment and redevelopment in
the past 15 years. Regeneration has been bolstered by monies from government and
the European Regional Development Fund.
