New bridge installed at Burnley Business Park

The bridge over the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Burnley Bridge Business Park, by Junction 9 of the M65, has been installed.

The 70-acre business park is one of the most exciting developments in the North West and will create 1,400 new and sustainable jobs. Phase One of the development will be completed by early Spring next year, with quality industrial units ready for occupation.

The bridge and an access road link the £50m business park to Junction 9 of the motorway, giving direct access to the heart of the site, which is on the outskirts of Padiham, East Lancs.

James Chapman, the managing director of Eshton, the developers of Burnley Bridge, said: “This is a very significant landmark in the development of our quality Grade A business park. It opens up the site from the motorway, which allows potential occupiers to see exactly what we are creating here.

“These are exciting times at Burnley Bridge. As well as the infrastructure going in, a 64,100 sq ft warehouse building is being comprehensively refurbished, providing a superb base for a logistics or industrial occupier, and 29,000 sq ft of speculative new units are being built. These will be ready for occupiers to move into in February.

“Cobalt, the warehouse, is being stripped back to its steel frame and then reclad to satisfy the requirements of the 21st century. The speculative industrial units are being built in two blocks, with sizes ranging from 3,000 sq ft to 19,000 sq ft,” explained Mr Chapman.

Leeds-based construction company GMI has been appointed to build Magnesium Court and refurbish The Cobalt Building as part of phase one of Burnley Bridge Business Park on the M65. The project has been kick-started by an ERDF grant of £3.85m to Eshton, the developers of the site.

Mr Chapman said that there had already been a good deal of interest in Burnley Bridge from potential occupiers, thanks to its superb location by the M65 and its ability to provide bespoke deals for occupiers.

“Significantly, some larger occupiers have been looking at the site and some have been enquiring about a unit in excess of 500,000 sq ft. There aren’t any other sites in the East Lancashire region where you could build something like that, especially with access straight onto the motorway network” he commented.

Gordon Birtwistle, the MP for Burnley, who watched the bridge being installed, said: “It is great to watch the development of this excellent business park, which will bring tremendous benefits to Burnley. This is an exciting time for Burnley and the 1,400 jobs, which should be created when Burley Bridge is fully developed, will be a great boost to the town.”

The agents for Burnley Bridge are Dove Haigh Phillips of Leeds and Trevor Dawson's Burnley office.

The infrastructure contractors are Eric Wright Construction of Preston. The Bridge has a span of 18m and is 13.3m wide. There are a total of 12 bridge beams – 10 inner ones weighing 17 tons each and 2 outer ones weighing 54.5 tons each. A 500-ton crane lifted the centre beams and a 1000 ton crane was used for the outer or edge beams Partner Michael Cavannagh of Trevor Dawson Chartered Surveyors said: “The location, immediately off Junction 9 of the M65, is perfect. It is the first speculative development along the M65 for at least five years, which means it is satisfying pent-up demand, and it can accommodate a wide range of requirements from 3,000 sq ft up to 500,000 sq ft. That provides potential occupiers with a massive choice.”