BLUEPRINTS for a new waterside arrival at one of East Lancashire’s landmark business regeneration schemes have been scaled back.

But proposals for start-up business units at Northlight, the former Brierfield Mills, are proceeding as planned, business leaders have confirmed.

PEARL (Pendle Enterprise and Regeneration Ltd), the joint vehicle of the borough council and Barnfield Construction, had originally planned for 20 new berths along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal for the complex.

Minutes for the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership’s Growth Deal board for last December have confirmed though that there would now only be 10 berths for the Moorings concept.

Plans for the Business Space portion of the old mills, offering units for smaller and medium-sized enterprises, are still on track though, the board was told, though it was confirmed Training 2000 had withdrawn.

Further business units are also being offered in the residential element of Northlight, which formed part of the original masterplan, approved in early 2016.

The board heard that work was expected to start on the business venture this March, with an anticipated completion date some time in December 2020.

LEP bosses say they will be closely monitoring progress as the deadline for this round of the government-backed Growth Deal programme.

Canalside moorings and attractive landscaping formed part of the overall vision for the millside attraction.

Julie Whittaker, economic development manager at Pendle Council, said: “We’ve had to scale back on the original size of the moorings as the cost of digging out a wider basin has now proved too costly.

“In part of the former Brierfield Mill, which is behind Lancashire Adult Learning’s new HQ, we’ll be building business units suitable for enterprising start-ups and other small businesses.

“The Northlight project is being led by PEARL, the pioneering company of Pendle Council and local contractor, developer and investor Barnfield Construction.”