£20m project creates jobs in town

JOB opportunities are on the way to Selby after employers queued up for a slice of a 20m project.

Council bosses hope the plan to build new headquarters for Selby Council and a community hospital will help firms hit by the credit crunch to get back on their feet.

Yesterday’s meeting with the developers was to see how the community’s building and service industries measured up as potential partners in The Selby Community Project. It involves both Selby Council and NHS North Yorkshire and York Community and Mental Health Services, who plan to save costs by sharing the new building near the War Memorial Hospital next year.

Contracts are up for grabs for construction work, plus services such as security, catering and cleaning. Potential bidders were invited to a Meet the Buyer event at the Civic Centre yesterday.

More than 40 representatives from local construction trades, alongside support services such as security and catering, turned up.

Council leader Mark Crane said: “It is fantastic to see such a great response to this event. It has given a number of local and regional firms the opportunity to compete for work on what is an important community project.”