WORK on a £3.5m industrial unit in Keighley has been completed barely a week behind schedule despite the Covid-19 lockdown.

Work began on Foundry Park in January but activity stuttered to a halt in April when the UK lockdown hit its peak.

Stainforth Construction had to spend a month away from the site – off Dalton Lane in Keighley’s industrial heartland – but since returning in May have made up for lost ground.

James Turner, of Ilkley-based Turner Developments, said its 39,000 square foot unit on Chesham Street was ready for occupation, with several parties showing interest.

Foundry Park is available for sale or to let, and can be split into two units or taken as a whole, with a service yard extending to more than an acre.

Mr Turner said: “We think the building is a really positive addition to Keighley’s industrial landscape.

“We think it will suit a range of businesses, from warehousing and distribution firms to engineering and manufacturing companies. We think it will appeal to growing businesses in the Aire Valley that are wanting to upscale or local companies operating out of outdated and inefficient buildings.

“Keighley, for all the challenges of the coronavirus outbreak, remains a thriving centre for manufacturing in the UK and we believe Foundry Park adds to the local infrastructure and will tick lots of boxes for progressive companies.”

Turner Developments has been active in Keighley for more than a decade, particularly at the former Magnet Joinery site in Royd Ings Avenue, where it developed the Aireside Business Park, a 260,000 square foot project, for seven occupiers; then the 370,000 square foot Riverside Business Park for five occupiers.

Foundry Park is built on the site of the former Harold Town campus of Keighley College which was bought by Bradford Council in 2006, and later sold to Turner.

Cllr Alex Ross Shaw, the council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “Keighley has long been a manufacturing powerhouse and this is a further example of the council and private sector working together to regenerate of brownfield sites in the Aire Valley. We look forward to welcoming a new occupier to Keighley’s Dalton Lane Business Development Zone.”

The development has been named Foundry Park in a nod to one of Mr Turner’s ancestors.

Mr Turner added: “In the mid 1850s, my great, great grandfather, Edwin Turner, operated the Eagle Ironworks foundry nearby. Naming this building Foundry Park, was a way to give a little nod to one of my ancestors and to recognise that this was once a thriving centre of employment. We’re confident it will be again.”