BLACKBURN'S economy is to be boosted by the creation of 230 jobs after the BBC said a licence fee call centre would be based in the town.

The jobs are being created by Capita who have won the contract for the national administration of the Beeb's licence fee which will start in April next year.

The contract is expected to be worth £500 million over ten years -- representing the largest ever contract for Capita to date.

The company plans to keep the core service in Bristol but also to develop a new customer centre in Blackburn, handling telephone, internet, fax and e-mail inquiries.

Capita's £205 million deal to privatise Blackburn with Darwen Council over the next 15 years was concluded in June this year.

Just under 500 council staff transferred to Capita and the business services group promised to create an additional 500 jobs over the next five years, 100 of which have already been created.

When the deal with the council was agreed, Capita said a £5 million new business centre, accommodating up to 1,000 staff, would be built in Blackburn town centre within two years.

Former council staff and new recruits to Capita are housed temporarily in a refurbished Broseley House, the town hall and other council buildings.

Among the services transferred from Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council are personnel, digital technology, architectural, engineering, housing benefit and some financial services.

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen council Bill Taylor has welcomed the news, especially as it follows the recent loss of manufacturing jobs.

He said: "It's great news for us here in Darwen, these are brand new jobs and will be well paid and will put Blackburn and Darwen back on the map .

"I am absolutely delighted that Capita has won this prestigious contract and brought it to the borough.

"While one element of our partnership is for Capita to carry out work directly for the council, such as housing benefits, architecture, civil engineering, personnel and digital technology, a key element linked to this is job creation.

"We have set Capita a target of 500 new quality jobs over the next five years and this figure now looks very likely to be exceeded.

"It is a testament to the council's ambitious and forward thinking approach that Capita chose to come here in the first place, and has decided to locate this major national contract within the borough."

Chief executive of the council Phil Watson said: "Capita has shown confidence in the borough by placing a major initiative here. It shows what can be achieved by bringing the best of the public and private sector together and working for the benefit of local residents."

Coun Colin Rigby, Leader of the Conservative group on the council said: "Capita should be congratulated on being in front of its original target figures for job creation.

"We welcome the news of this new business and the work brought into the borough and the number of new jobs."

The jobs are being described as "white collar" by Capita and the council.

Executive Chairman of Capita Rod Aldridge said: "We are delighted to have been selected as preferred partner to administer TV licensing for the BBC."

Zarin Patel, the BBC's head of revenue management, said: "We are confident that Capita is a leader in its field and will provide the best service for both the BBC and licence fee payers."

Both sides hope to complete negotiations soon and have stressed that the licensing operation will continue as normal until the change over next year.

Consignia, formerly the Post Office currently holds the TV licensing contract.

A spokeswoman for the company said there was no direct link between the 30,000 announced redundancies and the loss of the contract but said: "Losing any contract obviously doesn't help any company's trading position."

Capita employs 13,000 people at 160 sites across the country and is quoted on the London stock exchange, with forecast revenue of £690million for 2001. It became a FTSE 100 company in March 2000. In 1998 it was awarded a five-year contract to set up and administer the BBC information service.

It recently won the contract to create and administer the new Criminal Records Bureau certification service for the Home Office.