Electricity North West begins £7.5m Samlesbury network upgrade

Electricity North West is to begin work on a £7.5m upgrade of its network in Samlesbury which will help power the growing enterprise zone.

The work will help the 50-hectare Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone become a national centre of excellence for advanced engineering and manufacturing related companies, capable of accommodating up to 1.5 million sq ft of floorspace.

Lancashire County Council is backing the work, and approved the plans last year.

County councillor Geoff Driver CBE, Leader of Lancashire County Council said: "I'm very pleased to see work starting on this scheme. Providing additional electricity capacity at Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone is a great milestone for this strategically important employment site in Central Lancashire and supports Lancashire's broader economic recovery programme."

The project includes the creation of a new 33,000-volt substation and laying more than 22km of underground cables connecting the site to the network and paving the way for further strategic development.

As well as providing for industrial growth in areas like Samlesbury, the projects will support the region’s transition to using more renewable electricity for everything from transport to heating.

Peter Emery, chief executive of Electricity North West, said: "Through economic growth and the adoption of low-carbon technologies, the demand for electricity is starting to rise and will gather pace rapidly in the years to come.

"By starting work on schemes like this one in Samlesbury now, we are ensuring the network has enough capacity for the first steps of that transformation, and will guarantee that the major new facilities already being built there will have all the power they need to drive clean growth.

"Not only will that help us remain one of the most reliable networks in the UK, but it will also pave the way for the region to move towards becoming a cleaner, greener place to live."

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