LONG-AWAITED new development at a business park could help to kickstart a jobs boost for the area.

B & E Boys has been granted planning permission to erect a number of new industrial units at the Waters Meeting Business Park, where it has been waiting to make improvements since being hit by the economic downturn in 2008.

The company hopes that the development of the remaining empty plots on the existing estate, in Britannia Way, Bolton, will pave the way for further new building on a 10-acre parcel of land to the east.

Peter Boys, director of the family-run firm, said: “This is very good news. We are delighted and we hope it will mean further development in terms of employment for the area.

“This is a site we have had for some time and we are glad to have the support of the local authority.

“Obviously, the recession changed things considerably in a short space of time and the development that we were working on at that time all but ceased.

“This is the most significant development on the site since 2008.

“After this, we have further land that we also want to develop on, which should be more good news for Bolton. Job creation for the area is at the forefront of our minds.”

The Bolton News understands that the landowners are in advanced negotiations with potential occupiers for the four new units.

It is anticipated that the planned buildings could be completed and ready to open by the end of this summer.

Mr Boys added: “Our association with this site goes back to the early 1990s, and we have been steadily building over that period.

“Bolton is a great area and we hope to have a long future there.”

The developers say they have had “tentative” inquiries for larger units, adding that substantial funding will be required to bring the remainder of the undeveloped site up to standard where it can be built on. A statement submitted with the Rossendale firm’s planning application said: “Due to the economic conditions which have prevailed since the recession in 2008, no development has taken place on the Waters Meeting site.

“This has been mainly down to the inability of either the developer or prospective purchasers to secure funding on equitable terms.

“The demand for employment space is now slowly improving due to the limited availability of suitable premises and the gap between construction cost and value is narrowing slightly, albeit market confidence remains fragile. B & E Boys is now in a position to move forward with the development of the last three remaining plots of land on the main Waters Meeting Estate.

“It is hoped that this development will commence on site early in 2017 and be delivered in the same year.”

It adds: “Following the development of the remaining three small plots on the Waters Meeting Estate, hopefully during 2017, the developer will turn his attentions to the potential development of the remainder of the 10-acre site to the east.”