£3.85million secured for new bridge to Hapton business park (From Lancashire Telegraph)

£3.85million secured for new bridge to Hapton business park

9:50am Monday 16th January 2012 in Hapton By Peter Magill, Chief reporter

WORK is set to begin on a new bridge which will spark progress on an East Lancashire employment hub offering up to 1,400 jobs.Final confirmation has now been received that a £3.85million European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant has been secured for the Burnley Bridge business park, off junction nine of the M65 at Hapton.

The gateway to the £50million project, on the former Hepworth’s site, will be via a road bridge over the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

And Leeds-based developers Eshton have confirmed contractors will soon be on site to lay the foundations.

James Chapman, Eshton’s managing director, said: "The ERDF grant gives us the green light. We can now start work in earnest at Burnley Bridge and attract quality occupiers to a quality site.

“We are determined to make this business park the very finest in the region, building on its fantastic location and providing good jobs for an excellent Lancashire labour force.

“The final phase of demolition and site clearance has now been completed, getting everything ready for development. The construction of the bridge over the canal will now kickstart the whole project.”

The former chemical plant land, along with Whitebirk, near Blackburn, has been identified as the two key employment sites for East Lancashire.

Coun Charlie Briggs, Burnley Council leader, said: “This is fantastic news and it shows what can be achieved even in these difficult economic times when the private and public sector work together with a common goal.”

Steve Rumbelow, chief executive of Burnley Borough Council, said: “Eshton has had to be tenacious in the current market to bring this site forward and it has been a pleasure to help make it happen.”

Advanced talks are said to be ongoing with logistics and manufacturers over occupying the initial Burnley Bridge units.