A £15 MILLION investment programme at Castle Cement in Clitheroe has been halved and put on hold for a year.

The company last year announced a £55 million investment programme at its UK plants, including the upgrading of its Ribblesdale works and the mothballing of two wet kilns there.

The company had planned to increase production on its dry kiln at Ribblesdale, which was fitted with a £5 million gas scrubber.

But the firm says that due to a forecast reduction in demand for cement clinker, capacity will not now be increased as originally planned.

The £15 million plan has now been chopped to £8 million and put on hold for a year.

Works manager Ian Sutheran said: "We have had to readjust our plans, but £8 million, as well as the £5 million spent on the gas scrubber, is still a considerable investment and proves that Castle Cement is committed to the Clitheroe works and improving its environmental performance."

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