Business park boost for Eden

Construction began this week on the business park at Christian Head, near the town centre, and is a joint venture between dairy farmers Allan and Steven Ewbank who own the farm where the park is being built.

Allan Ewbank said the venture had taken two years to get to the construction stage and he believed it would bring "high quality" employment to Kirkby Stephen.

"A lot of dairy farms are diversifying these days and we are very excited about the development and believe it will be a real boost for the town," said Mr Ewbank.

When it is built, the park will consist of three units, which have planning permission for office/light industry and warehouse and distribution use and is being built on three acres of land at the farm.

Mr Ewbank, who is a former Kirkby Stephen town councillor, said there had already been "a lot of interest" in the units, which will be ready for use in October this year.

"When it's finished it will create a high quality environment for businesses in the Eden Valley and we are hoping both to attract new businesses, and create new jobs, in the town and also allow existing businesses to expand," said Mr Ewbank.

"Kirkby Stephen is perfectly located to take advantage of excellent road and rail links and ideally we would like to attract high wage employers, such as IT firms, as Eden has quite a low wage economy," he added.

He said that there was also room for further expansion as they had planning permission for a total of 40,000 square feet at the farm and new units could be built to fit customers' specifications.

Eden District Councillor for Kirkby Stephen Trevor Ladhams said: "I am very pleased to see that there is now some industrial development taking place in the town, which will create more employment opportunities. Hopefully, it will create skilled employment which will mean better income and benefit the local economy."

For details, visit the website at www.kirkbystephenbusiness park.co.uk.