Work has started on clearing a site to make way for a development on a Lancashire waterfront.
The work will demolish buildings and clean up contaminated land at St George’s Quay in Lancaster paid from from £4m out of the Growing Places Fund.
It will allow developer, Luneside East, a joint venture between CTP and Development Securities, to start work on building homes, business space and public spaces around a former works mill building on the quay by next summer.
The fund, made up of cash handed to the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership by the Government, aims to unlock private sector investment.
LEP chairman Edwin Booth said the scheme would not have gone ahead without the award from the fund, which also handed out money for work at Burnley Bridge Business Park and Edge Hill University in Ormskirk.
He said: “In each case we’re looking to provide the final piece of the jigsaw that ensures the project gets off the ground.
“Often the investment will help overcome constraints around sites and infrastru! cture issues, or a lack of access to finance, for example.
“Luneside East is a scheme we expect to go from strength to strength over the next few years and beyond, with a visible and very positive impact on the Lancashire economy.”
Guy Illingworth, director of the developer, said clear the site was “the critical first step” in getting work together.
He added said it had found it “difficult” to find the cash to do the work until the fund awarded it the money.
The remediation work is expected to last until the end of the summer.
Geoff Driver, leader of Lancashire County Council, said the development would put “another jewel” in Lancaster’s crown.
He said: “Thriving and vibrant cities are one of the keys to unlocking the county’s economic potential.”
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