Hyndburn employment park approved

Plans by Praxis Holdings for a 1m sq ft employment park at Whitebirk in Lancashire have been given the green light by Hyndburn Council.

The 85-acre mixed-use scheme, known as Frontier Park, incorporates industrial and distribution units, in addition to 35,000 sq ft of hotel, food and leisure space.

Praxis said that it has pre-let the five-acre roadside element of the development to a range of nationally branded occupiers, including a drive-thru, petrol filling station and budget hotel operator.

Frontier Park is part of Lancashire’s strategic economic plan which aims to generate almost 10,000 jobs and more than £500m for the local economy in East Lancashire through key employment sites such as Frontier Park.

Following the planning consent, preparatory works are scheduled to start on site in December 2015 and expected to last nine months. The initial phase of construction is set to begin in 2016 with the first building occupied by the end of 2017. It is envisaged that the entire development will be completed within five years.

Ancer Spa acted as Praxis’ planning consultants on the scheme. GVA and Trevor Dawson are the joint agents.

Gabriel McLaughlin, director and head of asset management at Praxis, said: “Frontier Park is a major development proposition that is not only exciting for us as developers, but also for Lancashire given it will create thousands of jobs for local people and encourage substantial inward investment.

“Now that we have secured planning permission we intend to hit the ground running to turn these plans into a reality. We will continue to work closely with the council, as well as local businesses and communities, to maximise the potential of this site and attract high-quality commercial occupiers.”