NPL Estates, the Glasgow-based firm that specialises in redeveloping brownfield sites, said yesterday it has reached a deal with Welsh Power to build an 850-megawatt gas turbine power station at the Hillhouse International Business Park in Thornton, Lancashire.
NPL Estates, the Glasgow-based firm that specialises in redeveloping brownfield sites, said yesterday it has reached a deal with Welsh Power to build an 850-megawatt gas turbine power station at the Hillhouse International Business Park in Thornton, Lancashire.
NPL manages the site and provides infrastructure services such as water, sewerage and electricity from the National Grid. The power station is part of a £600m redevelopment plan for the site, which used to be owned by ICI, the former paints and chemicals firm bought by Dutch-based AkzoNobel.
NPL said the development of the power station will employ 650 people in the construction industry and once completed, 40 highly-skilled permanent jobs will be created. The project still requires approval from the local authority, Wyre Borough Council.
"This is about bringing investment into our site," Simon Towers, managing director for NPL, told The Herald.
He also said that Hillhouse is a model that will be applied to one of the company's projects in Scotland.
Towers would not disclose how much the Welsh Power deal is worth to his company.
Councillor Russell Forsyth, leader of Wyre Borough Council, is enthusiastic about the project.
He said: "At a time when the economy is in decline, the proposal represents a significant investment into the borough and if approved, will generate power for thousands of homes and businesses."
When NPL took over the Hillhouse business park in 2003, a steady decline in the chemicals and manufacturing industry had depressed the site, where employment had fallen from more than 5000 in its heyday to less than 400. This stark decline had a negative impact on local business and residential communities, but since its redevelopment, Hillhouse now provides employment for about 1400 people.
