The redevelopment of an industrial estate on the banks of the Mersey is set to begin after Halton Council approved a £1.5 million investment in the project last night.

Astmoor, in Runcorn, is set to be transformed into a “modern and vibrant” business park over the next five years in a project that the council hopes will create up to 2,000 new jobs.

At a full council meeting on Wednesday night, councillors approved an initial investment of £1.5 million to overhaul Astmoor Road, the main access road for the site, from its current “dated” appearance.

The whole regeneration project is expected to cost £10 million over five years, with the council contributing £5.4 million from its own funds.

As well as improving several roads on the industrial estate, the council’s masterplan for Astmoor involves building new employment spaces on land that was cleared as part of the Mersey Gateway Bridge project.

There are also plans to relocate the Bridge School, currently located in the middle of the industrial estate, and the traveller site in Marsh Lane.

The Bridge School is expected to move to a new site in Old Quay Street while space for a new traveller site has been identified in Haddocks Wood.

According to the council’s masterplan, created by consultants BDP, Astmoor’s run down appearance means it is not currently “realising its full potential”.

The masterplan states: “The dated design and degraded physical appearance of Astmoor, also evident in the poor first impressions created by the uninspiring Astmoor Road, has had a negative impact on private sector investment. 

“Units have become less attractive for rental purposes and owners have consequently been reluctant to invest. Despite having development potential there has been little significant investment and development activity in Astmoor over the past two decades.

“With the Mersey Gateway now complete and a large portfolio of new development land coming into council ownership there is a significant opportunity to transform Astmoor into a modern business park. 

“By utilising vacant land and remodelling the estate, Astmoor can make a significant contribution to the borough’s employment land supply, securing the beneficial use of brownfield land to create new job opportunities on the doorstep of some of Halton’s most deprived communities.”

The initial £1.5 million will go towards turning Astmoor Road into a “boulevard”, with expanded pavements, narrower roadways and trees planted along the length of the road in order to create a better “first impression” of the site.

The disused footbridge over the road will also be removed and replaced with a pedestrian crossing at street level.

Overhauling Astmoor Road is expected to be the second most expensive part of the project after the relocation of the Bridge School. Moving the school is projected to cost around £4 million, mostly paid for with a 30-year loan.