Council to sell off business park
‘This is a high-quality site, which has already brought jobs to [the area]’
PATRICK JACK
ABUSINESS park that Lancashire County Council spent £6 million building has gone up for sale for a quarter of the price.
The Rising Bridge Enterprise Village was developed by County Hall’s economic development arm Lancashire County Developments Ltd, in partnership with Rossendale Council and the North West Development Agency.
Opened in 2011, the Blackburn Road development has been put up for sale at a guide price of £1,550,000 plus.
Graham Jones MP said
he had always opposed the development. He said: “It’s sad to see Lancashire County Council go ahead with it and not be a success. We need more socialist thinking. This site should have been transformed into common ground or a village green used by the residents and local school for the benefit of all.”
The Pugh Auctions listing says the business park is comprised of nine individual two storey units, two of which have been sold off on 125 year leases.
Of the remaining seven units, six are let and producing a current rent reserved of £112,962 per annum. The total site area is approximately 1.42 acres and the units have achieved BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, an industry benchmark in sustainability for construction.
A year after the site first opened, the Observer reported it was still empty despite bosses claiming at a launch event that it was a ‘vote of confidence’ in the Rossendale valley.
The development is right on the border of Rossendale and Hyndburn.
Andy Walker, head of business growth at Lancashire County Council, said: “This site is owned by Lancashire County Developments Limited, our economic development company.
“We are now focussing our economic development activity on other areas of work, so we’ve put the site up for sale at auction.
“This is a high-quality site, which has already brought jobs to Rising Bridge, and aim to bring in a significant sum at auction which we can use to bring new jobs and growth to the county.”
It is due to be auctioned off at AJ Bell Stadium in Manchester on Tuesday, July 16.
Andrew Connolly, Principal Estates Surveyor for Lancashire County Council, told the Free Press in 2012: ““Rising Bridge is a high specification office development featuring award-winning environmental design. It provides modern facilities combined with innovative energy reduction and sustainable features.”