A NEW business centre which will create hundreds of jobs is set to open its doors in October.

Councillors at Pendle's full council meeting earlier tonight were told the three storey centre, which runs the entire length of Market Street, in Nelson, will open on schedule.

It will house services by Liberata, which runs human resources, IT, estates and revenue and benefits on behalf of Pendle Council.

Pendle's council's reception and contact centre, also run by Liberata, will move across to the new 55,000 square foot building when it officially opens on October 27.

One hundred and sixty Liberata staff will move into the new building and 300 new service sector jobs will be created to boost Nelson's economy.

There will also be other offices, shops and a bistro.

Leader of the council Alan Davies said welcomed the development at the meeting.

He said: "The main thing is that it will be full of people and bring in an extra 300 jobs.

"There are many exciting things to come and we need to build on this development.

"This will bring diversity in the economy and it is those jobs that we want. Jobs that will allow our economies to work as the manufacturing industry declines.

"This will bring in service sector jobs which bodes well for our future."

Coun Tony Greaves said: "When I came into Nelson on Monday I was taken back by the building, it is something that we can all be proud of.

"For the first time Nelson has a new building in the centre that we can be proud of - both the outstanding quality and the design."

The Mayor and Mayoress of Pendle will be on hand to open the building, which took 12 months to build.

Liberata funded the construction of the building, which cost millions of pounds and was built by Barnfield Construction