A POTENTIAL £200m investment in a tyre factory - which could bring 500 jobs to Carlisle - has come a step closer.

Dick Cormack, who runs his own tyre brand DMACK, outlined plans for a factory at Kingmoor Park last year.

This week specialists from the Finnish consultancy Black Donuts, which advises on the design, construction, fit-out and efficient operation of tyre manufacturing plants, were on site carrying out evaluation work.

Mr Cormack said: “They have been doing a site visit and evaluation and we have been talking to Kingmoor Park about utilities and the feasibility of putting a factory there.

"We will be following that up by further discussions next week.”

He added that the recent award of Enterprise Zone status to Kingmoor Park was a powerful incentive to come there.

Enterprise Zones enjoy simplified planning rules and a business rate discount worth up to £275,000 for each company over five years.

Mr Cormack hopes that the factory could be operational by 2019, initially with a workforce of between 70 and 100 people.

But, with a capacity to turn out 2m tyres a year, the numbers employed could rise to 500 as production increases.

It is anticipated that another 150 jobs would be created during construction and across the local supply chain.

DMACK has been trading since 2006. At present its tyres are designed in Carlisle but manufactured in China.