Blackburn receives Royal visit
His Royal Highness, The Duke of Kent, will take in the sites of Blackburn next Thursday, June 3, as part of an official visit to the town.
The Duke will start his tour at the Town Hall where he will be received by The Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, Councillor Sheila Williams and meet, amongst others, Blackburn MP, Jack Straw, and chair of the Local Strategic Partnership, Mike Murray.
His Royal Highness, who will be accompanied by the Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Lord Shuttleworth, will be looking at various projects around the town helping to build community spirit and understanding as well as meeting local businessmen to discuss their involvement.
After departing the town hall, The Queen's cousin will visit Blackburn Cathedral where he will meet the Dean of Blackburn, The Very Revd Christopher Armstrong.
He will observe groups discussing community and inter-faith projects, as well as finding out about the Youthzone project - a central hub for children and young people - and the regeneration plans for the cathedral quarter.
He will also hear about plans for restoration work in the Cathedral and enjoy a short musical performance by the "Cathedral Choir"
Moving on, His Royal Highness will visit the new Masjid E Tauheedul Islam - the central mosque of Blackburn - to see the facilities, meet members of the mosque community and trustees and enter discussions with local scholars.
He will then visit the nationally acclaimed Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School and Sixth Form College, to find out about the school which, in 2008, was voted the most successful secondary school in the country and was recently awarded 'Outstanding' status by Ofsted in April 2010.
His Royal Highness will complete his visit at Audley and Queen's Park Neighbourhood Learning Centre where, amongst other activities, he will observe an adult numeracy class and hear about the Council's 'good relations' programme - a project designed to bring communities together - as well as hearing about the work of the neighbourhood boards to maintain good relations between residents in Blackburn with Darwen.
Blackburn with Darwen Mayor, Councillor Sheila Williams, said: "We are delighted that His Royal Highness, The Duke of Kent, is showing an interest in our efforts to bring communities in the borough together and we very much look forward to giving him a warm welcome.
"We have some very important projects and initiatives to show him and we are sure he will find his trip to Blackburn both interesting and informative."