JOB creation in Bacup has been given a £2.5 million boost.

The grant from the Regional Development Agency is for the development of the former Gaskell factory and concrete making sites in Newchurch Road as a business park.

The money will be used to clear existing buildings on the 11-acre site, prepare the land for the building of units, provide roads and create a new bridge over the River Irwell to provide access from the rear.

It is hoped that eventually up to 300 jobs could be provided on the site.

Rossendale Council will be submitting a bid next week for Euro funding to build an advanced unit on the land after the first phase of the reclamation scheme has been completed.

John Cowpe, acting borough engineer and planning officer, welcomed news of the grant as a significant contribution to the Bacup and Stacksteads Single Regeneration Budget initiative.

He said it would help kick start economic activity and lead to the creation of new job opportunities.

For the last 18 months the council has been working on assembling the site from the two previous ownerships and promoting the bid for redevelopment of the land.

The site was bought over a year ago and only now has come the news of the financial support from the Regional Development Agency.

The project will be phased over the next two years and will involve a regional marketing campaign to attract employers into Bacup.

Marketing consultants will advise Rossendale Council on the details. It is now hoped that work on the site can begin as early as next month.