A FLOOD-hit industrial estate has been awarded £30,000 of funding which traders hope will aid its growth.

The cash will be used to look at replacing an old, crumbling bridge, prone to flooding, that is one of the main routes into Dalton Airfield Industrial Estate, Thirsk.

Hambleton District Council is working with business leaders on the estate to ensure access to the site can be guaranteed all year round.

In severe flooding in 2012, the two main roads into Dalton Airfield Industrial Estate were closed which meant HGVs were diverted across a farmer's field.

The grant funding from the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership’s Growing Places fund will be used to support feasibility fees.

The fund allocated £200,000 to eight schemes across the region.

David Kerfoot, deputy chairman of the Enterprise Partnership said: “Our area suffers from numerous barriers to economic growth that can be resolved with an injection of significant capital funding.

“To speed up the process of bringing forward investment proposals, and to improve their quality, we’ve made this funding available for feasibility and development work.

“By being prepared, we can make the most of opportunities to secure cash from Government and other sources.

“This is a good example of how we’re working behind the scenes to help our partners can make the most of growth potential.”

The cash will be welcome news to businesses on the estate, where more than 950 people are employed, after being repeatedly cut off during bad weather.

Companies on the estate, including Severfield, one of the UK’s leading steel fabricators which has supplied steel for the Shard in London, appealed in 2012 for a relief road to be built to stop similar incidents.

Leader of Hambleton District Council Cllr Mark Robson said: “Flooding at the bridge has prevented the estate from expanding and, although it is not an annual occurrence, when it happens it means access to the businesses can be severely hampered for weeks on end.

“We are working with the businesses to find a way to alleviate the problem – once the solution is found the businesses in partnership with public sector organisations will secure funding for the scheme.

“Dalton is an important business park for Hambleton and the work will create new opportunities both for existing and new companies looking for space in our district – one of the council’s key priorities in its recently published Economic Strategy.”