What was once a rundown industrial zone on the eastern side of Carlisle is now buzzing with new life.

Units sitting empty for upwards of 15 years are now home to a number of small businesses after £2.25 million was splashed out on rejuvenating the 1950s Durranhill Industrial Estate.

Mark Walshe, who is part of the property team at Carlisle City Council, sets the scene for how things used to be.

"These units on Telford Road were the epicentre of the decline on the industrial estate," he said.

"This end of the estate was very depressing, but now there is far more life to it with every unit filled."

The new Locke Road was officially opened at the end of July.

With its wide pavements and splashes of colour from extensive landscaping, it has helped sell that end of the estate, according to Mr Walshe.

As well as opening up the site to traffic from Eastern Way, Locke Road has also provided access to the former Cavaghan & Gray riverbank site, which will unlock a further eight acres of development space.

The revamping of the 15.5 hectara estate has also seen a number of the four sites created on the former Border TV site now claimed.

There will be a new facility for SBS Cumbria Limited, a manufacturer of UPVC building products and Eden Dental Practice will be moving from their original site in Warwick Road.

Road widening and extensive landscaping has created an attractive entrance to Brunel Way, which is now sporting brand-new signage.

"We now have a redeveloped Kingstown Industrial Estate, and Parkhouse.

"Durranhill is no longer the poor relation," said Mr Walshe.

Councillor Heather Bradley, porfolio holder for economy, enterprise and housing at the city council, said the Durranhill improvement work was an exciting development.

"The investment has given the estate a major boost, and we are already seeing significant new investment into the estate.

"This is a key employment site with access to the M6 motorway corridor," added Mrs Bradley.

Work began on the estate last summer, and the whole project is expected to be completed sometime this month.

"We had hoped to be finished by October, but we are in what we call the snagging checklist stage, which is basically finishing off the bits and pieces," said Mr Walshe.

The project has been undertaken with £2m of funding from Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), as well as £250,000 from the Government's Homes and Communities Agency.

Once all works are completed, the city council says it is confident they have "stuck to the budget".

Mr Walshe added: "We are in the process of doing the final accounting, but we are sure the cost of the works are on budget.

"However, it is right to say that this was a challenging site to develop.

"Initially we had problems with flood water while we were working on the riverbank end of the estate, which washed away all the infilling works we had done."

The estate is home to Cavaghan and Gray, a major city employer and a key supplier to Marks & Spencer.

Also on site is the city east fire station and the city's main police station.

"We also had an additional challenge to make sure that Cavaghan and Gray were given 24/7 access to the site in the build up to Christmas," added Mr Walshe.

"This industrial estate was near its life expectancy, and was desperately in need of a shot in the arm," he said.

"We wanted to enhance the site and attract more businesses to set up there, leading to a boost in job creation."

"We wanted it to look like a show home, not looking good in 10 years, we wanted it to look good now, hence the extensive landscaping works."

As part of the redevelopment, Brunel Way had been widened.

There have also been improvements to the electrical infrastructure.

It is hoped the now empty and vandal-hit former HiQ Tyre Dealers on Brunel Way will be demolished, said Mr Walshe, in a couple of months.

"It is an eyesore, and it is hoped that this will be removed and the site cleared for further redevelopment," he added.

"The work on this estate is part of the overall strategy looking to attract more businesses and create more jobs," said Mrs Bradley.

As well as upgrading the road infrastructure, the city council also plans to shake up the leasing arrangement to better suit tenants.