A MULTI-million pound investment to breathe new life into Simonstone's former Philips factory is being hailed as a jobs bonanza for the area.

Fort Vale Engineering will not only move its entire operations to the Simonstone Lane site but will also let part of the facilities bringing in more companies and jobs.

The engineering company's relocation from Pendle Industrial Estate, Brunswick Street, Nelson means that site will shut with all 210 staff moved to the Simonstone site. There is no suggestion of any job losses.

Ribble Valley Council leader Coun John Hill said: "We are delighted to welcome them to Simonstone and the employment it will generate. I'm sure they will fit into the community.

"We are very sorry to see Philips go but the community will welcome Fort Vale with open arms, especially as we understand they will provide low industrial units, not the high rise we had with Philips, and they will do some work in the area to improve the environment and traffic calming."

Philips closed its doors last year . Fort Vale bought the site to build a new state-of-the-art facility to consolidate it's UK operations in the biggest development in the firm's history.

A spokesman for Fort Vale confirmed that all 210 staff would be relocated.