PROJECT UPDATE: Materials start to arrive at Chorley's £8.4m state-of-the-art digital office park

What’s the project?

Chorley Council is building an £8m ‘advanced digital office park’ at Strawberry Fields, Euxton Lane, which is expected to bring hundred of digitally-based jobs to the town.

What’s happened since?

Last week materials started to arrive at the 54,000 square foot site after the council won more than £4.1m of funding from the European Regional Development Fund earlier this year.

What services will be provided?

The centre will have a high capacity server and super-speed broadband, vital for advanced digital businesses.

There will be a new intensive business incubation facility for start up businesses with onsite business advisors and university researchers giving businesses extensive support in setting up and developing growth.

Businesses will be offered space which includes hot desks, micro pods, flexible desks and more traditional office suites and a training room will be on site offering workshop facilities as well as a networking zone.

It will also be one of the most advanced environmentally friendly buildings in Lancashire and has been designed to a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating.

Who is saying what?

Deputy Leader of Chorley Council, Coun Peter Wilson, said: “We visited the site at the end of July and it was great to see how much preparation work had been done so that the materials that have arrived on site can be used for construction.

“This is a very exciting and important development for Chorley and now that work is underway residents and visitors will start to see a difference to the area.

We are looking forward to seeing the finished development which is due to be completed early next year and will create hundreds of well-paid and skilled jobs."

Simon James of Chorley-based property developer Primrose Holdings, who are completing the project with the council, said: “Primrose are very happy to be working alongside Chorley Council to ensure the quick and effective delivery of this exciting development, of which the digital office park is a key strategic part.

"We are already putting the final pieces in place to create a dynamic destination for people to live and for companies to thrive and hope to be able to make further key announcements in the near future”.