A DERELICT site near Selby transformed into a flagship business park employing 120 people was today praised by Industry Minister Alan Johnson.

Officially opening the Bypass Park Estate at Sherburn-in- Elmet, he said the £1.3 million project was the result of a successful partnership between the private and public sectors.

Mr Johnson said: "Not only does this new estate bring welcome jobs and new business into the Selby area, it will also give a boost to the wider region, helping it create the 'world-class' economy it is striving towards."

Thirteen of the park's 14 units have been snapped up - and the original target of 80 new jobs has been already been passed, with 120 people now working on the former bacon factory site. The man behind the scheme is Bryan Sissons, managing director of local haulage contractors GW Sissons & Son Ltd, who has invested nearly £1 million in the 12-acre development.

He worked closely with Selby District Council's economic development chief Eileen Scothern to secure £360,000 of European money, set aside to help regenerate mining settlements.

The businesses renting units include a French company which makes lifting equipment, a Dutch firm making water pumps, a company specialising in toilet rolls and paper napkins and another one supplying hygiene products.

Mr Sissons - whose company started trading in Sherburn-in-Elmet in the 1880s - said he was proud to have created so many jobs in his home town.

He said firms had been attracted to the site by its proximity to the new A1-M1 link and its hi-tech security.

Mr Sissons said the European cash was the key to kick-starting the park, and urged other small businesses to talk to the local council to access funding.

He said: "At a time when my core business, road transport, has been affected by fuel costs, driver shortages and foreign competition, the opportunity to diversify has been a blessing."

Selby MP John Grogan said: "With the likely decline of Selby's mining industry in the coming years, we will need more examples of this sort of entrepreneurship."

Updated: 14:59 Friday, March 22, 2002