County dials in to 300 new jobs

A state-of-the-art customer contact centre in Accrington will be opened in the Autumn after negotiating with Lancashire County Council to occupy offices in the town centre.

Edwin Booth, chairman of Lancashire Enterprise Partnership welcomed the announcement: "A major global brand choosing to invest in Lancashire sends out very positive messages.

"For people in Hyndburn and the surrounding area it means lots of opportunities to work for a big name company that takes customer service seriously, it’s great for the local economy in Accrington and it means that other businesses, thinking about where to base similar operations, will consider that Lancashire is worth a closer look."

Miles Parkinson, leader of Hyndburn Borough Council, said: "This announcement is great news for the whole of Hyndburn. It's particularly pleasing that BT have recognised what the skills and commitment of the local workforce will bring to their business. We look forward to working with them."

Geoff Driver, leader of the county council, said: "We're obviously delighted that BT has recognised what Lancashire has to offer to businesses. We've helped it find suitable accommodation, but ultimately BT wants to come to Lancashire because of the skills and expertise we already have here.”

Tony Chanmugam, BT’s chief finance officer, said: “BT is delighted to be bringing more jobs to Lancashire. We have a great relationship with the local authority, which is helping us set up a new contact centre in an area where we wanted to be with committed people who have the right skills to help our customers.”