ONE of East Lancashire’s biggest employers has started a £25million project which will help safeguard more than 100 jobs.

The work at Hanson Cement’s Ribblesdale plant, located just outside of Clitheroe, will take seven years and aims to improve production efficiency and emissions.

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In the first six months, £11m will be spent and the site will be closed for a week while major refurbishment work is completed.

The firm’s biggest investment in the Ribble Valley works in 20 years comes after dust coated the nearby area several Continued n2 times last year, prompting complaints to the firm and the borough council.

In October people in Clitheroe complained about the ‘unknown sticky substance’ and said it could have harmed their health.

In 2011, the company announced 30 job losses at the site and reduced production by 30 per cent.

However work was later increased and 116 people are now employed there.

The company also said the investment was partly due to its contract to supply cement for the new Hinkley Point nuclear power station to be constructed in Somerset.

The project has been welcomed by Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans and Lancashire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Mike Damms.

Mr Evans said: “It’s great news and a boost for Clitheroe.

“It’s a vote of confidence for the plant and it’s great news for jobs.

“It’s the biggest investment since I became the MP in 1992.”

Speaking about the health concerns raised last year, he said: “This work will improve the environment issues surrounding the plant.

“It’s good news in those terms as well and I think the people living in the area will welcome this move.

“We don’t want to see a repeat of the concerns from last year.”

Mr Damms said: “It’s tremendous news. We have seen very little investment in the plant for many years so this is very good news for the area and for jobs.

“Cement is fundamental to any economy and it’s good for East Lancashire that we have such a staple here.

“It’s a major employer and very important to the region.

“I’m very pleased that the company is making this significant investment.”

The first phase, which started last week and will take up to six months, involves installing new dust filters on the cement grinding mills and renewing significant amounts of ducting.

The old electrical precipitators are being replaced with modern fabric filters to remove cement particles from the air.

The plant’s main cement grinding mills will be turned off for seven days while the new 25-metre tall filter systems are installed.

A total of 75 metres of new ducting is also being fitted as part of a five-year improvement plan for the site’s exhaust gas handling system.

The ducts range in size from three to five metres in diameter and date back to the 1980s.

The new lengths will prevent emission leaks and improve overall efficiency.

At £6.5m, the replacement of the wet gas scrubber, the house-sized unit that removes sulphur and odour from kiln gases, is the largest single investment.

It will take three months to complete and is planned to start in March.

Hanson will also be improving the fabric of buildings, mills and silos to reduce environmental impacts.

Communications manager David Weeks said. “The improvements would ensure the plant runs well below new dust emission regulations which come into force in April.

“The permitted level is being reduced by 66 per cent in April, from 30 milligrams per square metre to 10.

“The new equipment will perform better than this.

“When completed, these improvements will make a significant difference to our performance.”

The plant, which opened in 1936, employs 116 people and has produced cement for Manchester International Airport, Heysham nuclear power station, Manchester United’s stadium and Liverpool’s Roman Catholic Cathedral.

It is supplied by two on-site quarries worked by an 11-man team and a team of contractors managing the loading and hauling of quarry materials.