Work on new Enterprise Zone link road to start in £18.5m project

Work on an £18.5m project to unlock 10.5 hectares of commercial land through a second access road at Blackpool Enterprise Zone will begin this month.

The road to the Enterprise Zone will connect Common Edge Road with Blackpool Business Park on Amy Johnson Way, as well as widening Common Edge Road and improving the junction at School Road.

The project will open up a second entrance to the business park, sparking development opportunities on the new Eastern Gateway.

A range of land will be available for development from summer 2025.

George Cox & Sons will undertake the pre-construction works from this month, including converting the former Jepson Way changing rooms to be used as a site compound.

This work will take place off the main road and won’t need any additional traffic management.

Construction of the new road is expected to follow shortly after. This will include additional lanes created on Common Edge to maintain two-way traffic while the new road and junction are built.

Support to build the new access road at the Enterprise Zone has been provided through a £7.5m grant from HM Government Town Fund.

The Enterprise Zone is a 144 hectare site that includes Blackpool Airport, Blackpool Retail Park, Blackpool Business Park and surrounding land up to the border of Common Edge Road.

The site is much larger than many of the other UK enterprise zones and straddles the boundary between the Borough of Fylde (55%) and Blackpool (45%). Much of the site sits within designated greenbelt and has multiple stakeholders, up to 20 freehold and long leasehold property interests and more than 200 occupiers.