A WORLD-LEADING company has chosen Chorley as its North-West base.

The Computer Science Corporation is to create a major centre at the Royal Ordnance site in Euxton, providing a range of information technology support to British Aerospace.

Up to 400 staff will transfer to the new base over the next six months starting at the end of October.

The news is yet another boost for Chorley Council chiefs, coming just days after the announcement of a new business park development by Northern Trust and hard on the heels of the news that Chorley accountants Lathom, Crossley and Davies is to spend £3 million on an extension to its St Thomas's Road office.

The Ackhurst park development will create at least 130 new jobs and LCD's planned extension should bring a further 200 jobs to the town over the next four years.

Commenting on the CSC move, Chorley's economic development chairman, Coun Lindsay Hoyle said: "This is great news and a major coup for Chorley.

"CSC is a world class company operating in the hi-tech growth sector of the economy, providing quality, well-paid jobs.

"We have been working behind the scenes for quite a while now, and have helped to put together a sports and leisure welcome package for the firm, which has helped to send the right signals to the company.

"Despite the uneven grants playing field Chorley has to cope with, this shows we are still able to attract world-class companies.

"At last we are beginning to see some of the tangible results of our hard work as we tried to turn the site around. The real prize is that at RO Chorley, we can secure new development and much needed investment in new jobs without eating into more green fields."

Guy Haines, vice -president of CSC's Aerospace account, said: "With our operations throughout the North West, Chorley is the ideal location to create a centre of excellence for the full range of IT services which we provide."

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