THE starting gun has been fired at the multi-million pound ‘Skills City’ for Lancashire.

Construction work started yesterday at the enterprise zone based around BAE Systems’ Samlesbury plant.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The scheme, which is expected to create 6,000 hi-tech jobs, will first see an access road created at the northern end of the site before further work is started later this year.

The work comes less than a month after the ambitious project came under fire from East Lancashire politicians when it was revealed that it was the only similar project of 24 in England to have attracted no new business or produced any new jobs.

Growth minister Penny Mordaunt and her skills counterpart Greg Clark have told the chairman of the council/business partnership behind the scheme that the government had ‘lost confidence’ in its ability to ‘deliver the enterprise zone successfully’.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said that the plan was now in crisis and it was also criticised by Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Kate Hollern and Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle.

Lancashire County Council, which is leading the scheme, rejected the comments and said that it was still on track.

The enterprise zone, to be developed at BAE Systems’ Samlesbury and Warton Military Aircraft Division sites and approved in 2011, was supposed to be the jewel in the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership’s crown bringing dozens of new hi-tech businesses and creating jobs in the development and at supply firms all across the county.

Approval was granted to develop 180 acres at Samlesbury, including the disused airfield in 2011, and in April 2012 it was hailed as the most advanced such scheme in the country.

County Councillor Alan Schofield, who represents Ribble Valley South West, said: “I welcome the start of creating what is planned to be a very important economic and employment development for East Lancashire and the whole county in advanced engineering and manufacturing, while continuing to look to safeguard local community, highway safety and environmental interests.

“County council highways has created a compound on the old road last week and signs are in place relating to this major highways work.”

Phill Wilson, Lancashire County Council’s highways project manager overseeing the scheme, said: “Our team has just moved onsite and the work is expected to take around 22 weeks to complete, during which time we’ll do everything we can to minimise any disruption to local road users.

“No road closures are planned during the works and we’ll plan around peak times to avoid causing delays as far as we possibly can.”