TWO councillors have reacted to the news that jobs are set to be lost at a major East Lancashire employer as it prepares to move parts of its business to Hull.

Crown Paints, which has its headquarters in Darwen, is set to make around 25 redundancies.

The company employs more than 1,100 people across its sites in Darwen and Hull, as well in its decorating centres throughout the UK.

It is believed that due to an increase in the cost of materials, the company is closing its water-based paint plant in Darwen and relocating its operations to Hull.

Cllr Phil Riley, who oversees growth and development at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "Obviously, any loss of jobs is never a good thing, but I think from reading the news it does not signify a loss of interest in Darwen as a location in the long-term.

"There are unprecedented increases in costs, not just in terms of energy but raw materials, construction and a series things for Crown Paints to negotiate, so it is no surprise with the size of their business that they are trying to make some savings.

"The important thing is that it doesn't, at present, show any signs of a loss of interest in Darwen as a location.

"This looks like a short-term effort to mitigate an extremely strange cost profile change, but there's not at the current moment indication loss of interest in Darwen. That is what is important."

Cllr David Smith, Labour representation for Darwen West, said: "Any job losses are not good news for the town. Crown Paints is an extremely important business and of course we never want to lose one so well-run and employing so many. However, it's very important to still be in and working in Darwen despite this setback."

A spokesperson for Crown Paints said: "Like many businesses in the UK, we have experienced a marked increase in the cost of raw materials and packaging which, according to The British Coatings Federation looks set to continue throughout 2022 and beyond.

"As a result, we have needed to seek efficiencies in other areas of the business and this has resulted in the decision to close our water-based plant in Darwen and relocate operations to Hull, where our existing facility has capacity to accommodate this.

"We are working with trade unions to minimise the impact of this change as much as possible however this is likely to result in around 25 redundancies and we are currently in consultation with all employees concerned.

"As a significant, long-standing employer in Darwen, we remain committed to our Lancashire base, having invested in our solvent-based plant last year and we have further plans to continue to develop the site in the future."

The trade union GMB has been contacted for a statement.