New business park in Great Harwood given green light

A major employment development on the site of a former abattoir has been given the green light paving the way for dozens of new industrial and warehouse units on a long-vacant brownfield site in Great Harwood.

The scheme, submitted by Harrisons Engineering Lancashire Limited, will see five employment buildings erected on land off Balfour Street, together with the refurbishment of an existing warehouse and new access arrangements.

Hyndburn Council’s planning committee formally approved the application on October 9, clearing the way for Hyndburn’s newest business park and providing around 83,000sqft of industrial floorspace across 22 units.

These new employment units will be aimed at manufacturing, industrial and storage operators, on the site formerly occupied by the ABP Blackburn abattoir, which ceased operating in 2022.

Much of the complex was subsequently demolished and the land has remained largely vacant, with some temporary storage uses on the cleared site.

Planning documents describe the redevelopment as a significant regeneration project that will bring a prominent brownfield site back into productive use.

The approved plans include a new vehicle access from Balfour Street, alterations to existing access arrangements from Heys Lane, extensive landscaping works, cycle facilities and more than 100 parking spaces.

Though now approved, the application faced a range of technical and environmental challenges before reaching committee.

The land contains a culverted section of Harwood Brook and lies partly within Flood Zone 2, requiring extensive drainage and flood mitigation measures. The site is also affected by historic industrial activity, with planning documents highlighting potential contamination risks and former coal mining legacy issues.

The applicant will be required to undertake detailed investigations and any necessary remediation before construction can begin. The site has also been linked to historic gas infrastructure, creating further engineering constraints that had to be resolved in the application process.

More than 30 planning conditions have been attached to the approval, covering everything from biodiversity net gain, flood risk, and drainage to noise control, contamination, archaeology, highway improvements and local employment opportunities.

While the scheme will be delivered in phases, during construction, developers must also provide habitat management plans, ecological enhancements including bat and bird boxes, and install solar panels on the new buildings before occupation.

The council has also required the developer to prepare an employment strategy explaining how local residents will be recruited and trained during both the construction and operational stages of the development.