Whitebirk
Encyclopedia
Whitebirk is a suburb
in the east of Blackburn, in Lancashire
, England
. Most of the suburb is in Blackburn with Darwen
, a unitary
area, with the east of the suburb being in the borough of Hyndburn
. Whitebirk is part of the Blackburn urban area
.
The area is largely industrial and is the eastern terminus of the town's northern ring road, the A6119, where it meets junction 6 of the M65
. To the west of the ring road there is Burnley Road and the Greenbank Business Park, and to the east, across the boundary in Hyndburn, is the Peel
Retail Centre. The retail park
was built in the 1980s on the site of Whitebirk Power Station
, which was opened in 1921 and closed in 1976.
The suburb also includes a council estate, which is situated between the A679 Accrington Road, A678
Burnley Road and A6119 Whitebirk Road.
The areas of Whitebirk are in different wards
for local government: the residential area is in Shadsworth & Whitebirk, the industrial estate is in Little Harwood
, and the retail park is in Rishton ward.
The retail park includes stores such as; Currys
, PC World
, ScS Sofas, CSL Sofas
, Comet, Dreams Beds
, Harveys Furniture
& Bensons for Beds
.
Closed stores in the retail park include; Go Switch On
& The Carphone Warehouse
, Carpetright
, Allied Carpets
, Storey Carpets/Walter Wall Carpets/Carpet World, Bed Works, Focus DIY and MFI and a few more.
The Range
has a store in Whitebirk, located where B&Q
used to be in Blackburn, before it moved in 2004 to the Nova Scotia Retail Park, in the Grimshaw Park area.
Companies based in the Whitebirk area include the bus
manufacturer Darwen Group
, formerly East Lancashire Coachbuilders
, which moved to the industrial estate in the 1990s from its previous site in the Brookhouse area of Blackburn.
EDC Blackburn was the UK's largest CD
manufacturer, and was located between Whitebirk and Little Harwood; the company, formerly Deluxe Global Media Services, was acquired by Entertainment Distribution Company
in 2006 and closed three years later when production was moved to Germany
.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
in the east of Blackburn, in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Most of the suburb is in Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of Blackburn, the small town of Darwen to the south of it, and the surrounding countryside.-Formation:...
, a unitary
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
area, with the east of the suburb being in the borough of Hyndburn
Hyndburn
Hyndburn is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington. The district is named after the River Hyndburn....
. Whitebirk is part of the Blackburn urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
.
The area is largely industrial and is the eastern terminus of the town's northern ring road, the A6119, where it meets junction 6 of the M65
M65 motorway
The M65 is a motorway in Lancashire, England. It runs from just south of Preston through the major junction of the M6 and M61 motorways, east past Darwen, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and ends at Colne.-History:...
. To the west of the ring road there is Burnley Road and the Greenbank Business Park, and to the east, across the boundary in Hyndburn, is the Peel
Peel Group
The Peel Group is a diversified real estate, transport and infrastructure investment company in the United Kingdom. It has assets owned and under management approaching £6 billion...
Retail Centre. The retail park
Retail park
In the United Kingdom, a retail park is a grouping of many retail warehouses and superstores with associated car parking. Its North American equivalent is a power centre. Retail parks are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households...
was built in the 1980s on the site of Whitebirk Power Station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
, which was opened in 1921 and closed in 1976.
The suburb also includes a council estate, which is situated between the A679 Accrington Road, A678
A678 road
The A678 is a road in Lancashire, England, which runs between the towns of Blackburn and Padiham.The road was formerly the main route between Blackburn and Burnley before it was bypassed by the M65 motorway which opened in the 1980s...
Burnley Road and A6119 Whitebirk Road.
The areas of Whitebirk are in different wards
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
for local government: the residential area is in Shadsworth & Whitebirk, the industrial estate is in Little Harwood
Little Harwood
Little Harwood is a small part of the English town of Blackburn in Lancashire, situated at the northern edge of the town. In Little Harwood there is a clock that dates back to the time Blackburn was named. Under the clock one of the quotations is...
, and the retail park is in Rishton ward.
The retail park includes stores such as; Currys
Currys
Currys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...
, PC World
PC World (retailer)
PC World is OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT one of the WHER MA MEMORY STICK ?!?!??! United Kingdom's largest chains of mass-market computer superstores. It is part of Dixons Retail plc. PC World operates under the brand name PC City in Spain, Italy and Sweden....
, ScS Sofas, CSL Sofas
Csl Sofas
CSL, the sofa specialists formerly Clayton Salerooms and CS Lounge Suites Ltd, are a specialist sofa retailer started by the Tyldesley family in the north west of the UK.-History:...
, Comet, Dreams Beds
Dreams (bed retailer)
Dreams is a UK bed retailer and manufacturer with over 200 stores throughout the United Kingdom. Its head office is located in Loudwater, High Wycombe.-1980s:In 1985 Mike Clare opened the 'Sofa-bed' shop in Uxbridge...
, Harveys Furniture
Harveys Furniture
Harveys Furniture is a British furniture retailer with over 150 stores throughout the United Kingdom. It has been the sponsor of long running soap opera Coronation Street since 30 September 2007. It is wholly owned by Steinhoff International which owns more than 70 factories. Steinhoff was founded...
& Bensons for Beds
Bensons for Beds
Bensons for Beds are the largest UK bed retailer in terms of numbers of stores having 307 branches following a merger in October 2011 with sister companies Sleepmasters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland along with Bed Shed in Scotland. Bensons was initially founded as a general store in 1950...
.
Closed stores in the retail park include; Go Switch On
Powerhouse (shop)
Powerhouse was a United Kingdom electrical goods retail chain which went into administration in 2003 and finally entered receivership in August 2006...
& The Carphone Warehouse
The Carphone Warehouse
Carphone Warehouse Group PLC , known as The Carphone Warehouse, is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across Europe. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a 50% subsidiary of Best Buy...
, Carpetright
Carpetright
Carpetright plc is one of the largest British retailers of floor coverings. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
, Allied Carpets
Allied Carpets
Allied Carpets is one of the largest retailers of floor coverings operating a chain of large out-of-town superstores around the UK. It also has some High Street stores. It is the second-largest retailer of carpets in the UK.-History:...
, Storey Carpets/Walter Wall Carpets/Carpet World, Bed Works, Focus DIY and MFI and a few more.
The Range
The Range
The Range is part of the original grounds of the University of Virginia as designed by Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. The Range buildings run parallel to and face away from the Lawn, and are separated from the Lawn by a series of ten gardens .There are six "hotels" on the...
has a store in Whitebirk, located where B&Q
B&Q
B&Q plc is a multinational DIY and home improvement retailer headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange....
used to be in Blackburn, before it moved in 2004 to the Nova Scotia Retail Park, in the Grimshaw Park area.
Companies based in the Whitebirk area include the bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
manufacturer Darwen Group
Darwen Group
The Darwen Group was a bus manufacturer located in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The company originated from the purchase of East Lancashire Coachbuilders who went into administration in August 2007...
, formerly East Lancashire Coachbuilders
East Lancashire Coachbuilders
East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.In 1994 the company expanded in to new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the...
, which moved to the industrial estate in the 1990s from its previous site in the Brookhouse area of Blackburn.
EDC Blackburn was the UK's largest CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
manufacturer, and was located between Whitebirk and Little Harwood; the company, formerly Deluxe Global Media Services, was acquired by Entertainment Distribution Company
Entertainment Distribution Company
Entertainment Distribution Company is a distribution center to which Universal Music Group’s British, German, and American optical disc-manufacturing capabilities were sold during 2004. The company's previous name was Glenayre Technologies...
in 2006 and closed three years later when production was moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.