Last hurdle goes in Bacup supermarket bid (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Last hurdle goes in Bacup supermarket bid

11:04am Friday 29th June 2012 in News By Peter Magill, Chief reporter

THE last obstacle appears to have been cleared in the fight for a new £7m supermarket in Bacup which could bring 110 jobs with it.

Council bosses have confirmed that the final remaining portion of land at the site off Gas Street has now been acquired by agents acting for retail giant Morr-isons.

And it is hoped that comprehensive demoliition work on the site, off Market Street, can now proceed swiftly, amid initial fears that the work may bee delayed until September.

Council business director Stuart Sugarman said: “The legal agreement has now been signed.

Morrisons were negotiating not just with us but a lot of land owners. They could not go ahead and demolish until they had done that.”

Council leader Coun Alyson Barnes said: “Morrisons did not have the final piece of land in place until last Friday and hopefully this will now tidy up a prominent part of the town.”

Coun Andrew MacNae, executive member for regeneration, said: “We are at the point where we have received money for our parts of the land.

“And now we hope they can start on the physical development works there.”

Agents for the development have previously said that they would be keen to move on to the site, which contains a number of buildings, including the former Horace’s nightclub, before September.

Planning permission was granted in March, after protracted negotiations with one of the landowners.

There was a covenant on the land which preventing a rival retailer moving in.