A £590,000 project is set to complete the reclamation of the former British SIDAC site.

The Sutton site, which has been designated for industrial/commercial development, is being treated, made safe, and cleared by contractors Wimpey Environmental Ltd. on behalf of St Helens Council.

Operating as a glassworks until 1920, the site was then used for making cellophane paper products until 1982. Following the acquisition of the land by St Helens Council, site investigations, demolition and reclamation works were undertaken, but these were halted in 1994.

New English Partnerships has now stepped in to allow the completion of the reclamation, which will take six months.

Tina Hothersall, development manager for English Partnerships, said: "This project will bring more than six hectares of land back into beneficial use, ridding the area of an environmental eyesore and a significant local problem."

This latest cash injection will increase English Partnership's investment in the the reclamation of the site to £1.8 million.

Councillor John Fletcher, chairman of the council's Development Committee, added: "This decision is excellent news. The council is very short of available industrial land and once reclaimed, this site will help meet that need and bring employment to the area."

But Sutton Liberal Democrat councillor John Beirne has accused the council of keeping local residents 'in the dark' over 'dangerous chemicals being removed from the site'.

"I believe local police have been issued with masks and hospitals alerted in case of an emergency" he said. "But St Helens Council could not inform people of what's going on. I find this totally unnacceptable."

Now Coun Beirne is seeking a public meeting to allay residents' fears.

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