PLANS to develop land by junction 8 of the M61 will be drawn up over the coming months, with the potential to create hundreds of jobs and homes.

The area around the Botany Bay building and land to the east of the canal has long been earmarked for development and landowners are working together to help bring investment into the area.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Chorley Council is working with Planit-IE to co-ordinate the master planning of the site, and the aim is to have the work completed by January.

Councillor Alistair Bradley, leader of Chorley Council, said: “This site has been identified for development for many years and I’m delighted progress is being made. We know how important it is that we open up new land for development that will create jobs. and that’s why we have been working hard behind the scenes with the landowners to discuss how the site should be developed.

“We’ve managed to do that and I’m delighted we can now start to map out how the site could look in order to bring new investment and jobs to the area.”

Residents and businesses will be able to give their views and ideas as part of a consultation process in the New Year. The site has the potential for retail, leisure, employment and housing, new infrastructure and increased accessibility to the canal as part of a high-quality waterfront development.

“As we make progress it is really important residents and businesses put their views forward as we are very open-minded about what the site could be used for,” said Cllr Bradley.

“It is an exciting opportunity for Chorley and it’s really important we look at ways we can create new jobs for the people growing up in our borough so we don’t lose the talent to other parts of the country. One way we can do that is to work with landowners to bring these development sites forward so that investors see us as a forward-thinking borough and a place they want to locate their businesses.”

The authority will be working closely with four of the landowners who put themselves forward to be part of a reference group to make sure the masterplan is deliverable.

The masterplan will establish land uses for the site, which will be used to determine planning applications.

If completed by the turn of the year a planning application could be submitted for the site as early as next summer.