THE private sector will fund more than half of the regeneration scheme for Brierfield Mill, it has been revealed.

Plans for the Northlight scheme include a hotel, a state of the art climbing and leisure facility, high-quality retirement housing overlooking the canal and valley, and ‘incubator’ workshop accommodation in the mill buildings, and a family pub and marina.

The total estimated cost is just over £30 million and the package put together by PEARL – Pendle Council’s joint development company with Barnfield Construction – includes funding from four sources.

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Pendle Council and PEARL are contributing £7.3 million, which is 24 per cent of the scheme, while Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Economic Partnership are funding £3.5 million.

Central government is funding £2.7 million in total, while private money, from companies which will go into the mill, are paying £16.9 million.

Lib Dem Cllr Tony Greaves, the council’s deputy leader, said: “I am very pleased that the partnership between Pendle and Lancashire has been able to come up with the goods.

“It is a great disappointment that in spite of a string of ministers coming up to see the mill and half-promise after half-promise, the government have been so miserly.

“At one stage the LEP was assured of government money of up to £9 million for the scheme, and there were other grants of over £5 million that we were assured were effectively tied on. Most of this came to nothing and we have had to use our own resources.

“I want to thank Tim Webber at Barnfield and PEARL whose enthusiasm and vision have been behind this scheme from the start.

“I also want to thank the leader of Lancashire County Council Jennifer Mein for her strong support, the chairman of the LEP Edwin Booth, and everyone else who has supported the scheme after a difficult start.

“We have had to negotiate difficult political waters as in the current febrile climate, various politicians have tried to claim credit for the project, and exclude others, but we got there in the end.

“All I want to see now are men and machines starting the work later this summer – then the hoped for 500 new permanent jobs in this historic building.”