Prince Charles visits Burnley's Weavers' Triangle

Prince Charles has visited Burnley as part of a two-day programme of visits to champion regeneration projects.

He visited Sandygate Square in the Weavers' Triangle, a derelict area that has been renovated by young people from the Prince's Trust.

The Prince of Wales then went on to Slaters Terrace, a derelict canalside building, and Victoria Mill which is currently being restored.

It was the prince's fourth visit to Burnley in six years.

The visit came as an independent report found that no other group of charities could have achieved as much as the prince's had in Burnley.

The prince pledged the support of six of his charities to help take forward the revitalisation of the town during a visit in 2008.

'Self-confidence'

The evaluation report, published by the Cass Business School, at City University London, found that the "Making A Difference" collaborative charity project had made a "significant contribution" to the regeneration of Burnley.

Prince Charles saw some of the results of the collaboration as he met volunteers, beneficiaries and representatives from charities and organisations in the Weavers' Triangle.

Chloe Bradshaw, 17, has completed a Prince's Trust tactical engineering development course, which helps 16 to 19-year-olds learn about engineering through a combination of practical workshops, visits to engineering companies and academic training.

Chloe, who has since joined the Army, said: "I would probably not have got far at all if I hadn't done the Prince's Trust programmes.

Chloe Bradshaw has completed a Prince's Trust tactical engineering development course

"I was going down the wrong route and they've shown me you can actually do stuff. It gave me the self-confidence to join the Army.

"The programmes are helping the kids in Burnley who don't really know what they're doing."

In the Victoria Mill, Prince Charles met building contractors who showed him how they were using traditional skills to restore the large, disused cotton mill and turn it into a university technical college.

He was "thrilled" to be back in Burnley and spoke of some of the charities' successes in the town.

"I hope we can continue to work together in Burnley and this model of working collaboratively could be used in other deprived areas of the country," he said.

The prince first spoke of his passion for the Weavers' Triangle in a visit in 1988, when he said "the whole area could be made to be extraordinarily attractive".