Burnley Bridge business park in £500k loan boost (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Burnley Bridge business park in £500k loan boost

12:15pm Thursday 6th October 2011 in Hapton By Peter Magill, Chief reporter

COUNCIL bosses promised a loan of up to £500,000 to ensure the Burnley Bridge business park became a reality, it has emerged.

Town hall chiefs met behind closed doors to rubberstamp the interest-free payout for Leeds-based Eshton Developments.

Earlier this week, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed that the backers of Burnley Bridge, which could create up to 2,000 jobs, had been given £3.8million by the European Regional Development Fund.

Council minutes show that the borough’s executive agreed in April to a ‘short-term interest-free loan’ for infrastructure works at the Pollard Moor site.

The sum, for up to £500,000, will be funded by additional council borrowing and was intended to act as ‘leverage’ for the European funding.

Opposition councillor Mark Townsend has welcomed the move, which was discussed in private by the Liberal Democrat administration.

But he is concerned checks are put in place to ensure the investment is protected, after the council was left with a £500,00 bill two years ago, when it purchased homes in Burnley, for an abortive scheme to build a replacement Hameldon College.

Coun Townsend said: “I am delighted that this long-awaited project appears to be at last progressing and will hopefully provide many skilled and highly paid jobs.

“But the developer could only get this off the ground by the council offering an interest-free loan, funded by borrowing.

“The council is taking a risk with local taxpayers’ money on this and I just hope they have put in place the necessary safeguards, unlike the Melrose Avenue debacle, that cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds.”