A North-West property firm is seeking to build a new £10million commercial development near the M65.

The business park off Haslingden Road in Blackburn would create 68 new units for small and medium sized businesses.

The four-acre site close to Junction 5 of the M65 would offer a total of 24,000 square feet of commercial space for offices, industrial use, storage and distribution.

Bamber Bridge-based Roundhouse Properties has submitted a planning application for its proposed new Momentum business centre on land close to EG Group’s Waterside headquarters next to Guide reservoir and opposite the Shadsworth Business Park.

It is the company’s fourth such project and follows previous similar developments at South Rings near Preston and Buckshaw Village near Chorley.

They offers occupiers the opportunity to rent, buy, or rent to buy.

The news of the proposed scheme has been welcome by Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley and his Conservative counterpart Cllr Paul Marrow.

Subject to planning consent, Roundhouse hopes to be able to start work on the development towards the end of summer with the first units available early next year

Jeremy Lefton, a of Roundhouse Properties, said: “Our Momentum Business Centres have proved hugely successful because they offer business owners that all-important flexibility to support them on their business journey.

“These units will provide a fantastic location for businesses right next to the M65 in a well-established commercial area, creating new jobs and economic activity.

"We’re excited to submit this planning application and hope to be on site before the end of the year.”

The 68 single-storey commercial units will be spread across 12 buildings on a site designated for employment use by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Cllr Riley said: "This is good news. It shows signs of increasing economic activity in the borough after the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are very pleased and obviously the planning department will look at this application carefully."

Cllr Marrow said: "It is good to see people wanting to invest in the borough.

"These are business units that will create jobs and I welcome that."

Aimed primarily at small businesses and start-ups, the design enables owners and occupiers to take more than one unit and add a mezzanine level to a create a larger space.

The development will include 193 parking spaces, motorcycle parking and cycle storage.