ONE of the big hopes when the M65 was opened was that it would help bring new jobs to East Lancashire as well as make traffic flow more freely.

In the past few years that has proved to be the case with the development of business parks all along the motorway corridor.

Lomeshaye Industrial Estate at Nelson, the Network 65 Business Park at Burnley and the Walker Business Park at Guide have all brought much needed new jobs to the region - and provided new premises which have allowed existing businesses to expand without having to move out of the area and take jobs with them.

Today detailed plans are unveiled for the 15-acre Trident Park straddling Hyndburn and Blackburn with Darwen council boundaries - a £10million development which will include industrial units, canalside office blocks and car showrooms.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has in the past expressed concern about uncontrolled development in the Whitebirk area because of the understandable worry that a mushrooming of retail outlets would simply damage the town centre.

But now the two councils and developers Barnfield Construction have reached an agreement which will see construction of another substantial link in the chain of prosperity that the motorway has brought.

As Hyndburn's regeneration boss Nigel Rix says: "It will create a lot of new jobs and is a significant investment."