A COMPANY is planning to start work on a new £6.5 million factory which could provide more than 100 new jobs.

But the firm will have to find £10,000 to help pay for Traffic improvements on the roads near the new works before the builders can move in.

The condition is one of a series imposed by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Office furniture specialists GGI say more than 100 new jobs will be created with the move into the purpose-built factory in Darwen. The firm, currently located in a Victorian mill in Cranberry Lane near Spring Vale Garden Village, plans to expand, and bosses say the move to the new 113,000 square foot building in Lower Eccleshill Road is essential.

The council's planning sub-committee agreed the application subject to a series of conditions.

Traffic experts claim the area suffers from traffic congestion and the new factory will make the situation worse

The £10,000 will pay for improvements on Greenbank Terrace but will be returned to the company if the scheme is not completed within three years.

Other conditions include car parking at the building, noise restrictions and landscaping at the site.

GGI is hopes the building, which will include a new showroom, will be ready to use by the end of next year.

If the move is a success, an extension will be added to the factory within five years.

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