REGENERATE Pennine Lancashire says it has already created or safeguarded 284 jobs and helped start 89 businesses during the first quarter of this year.

The organisation said 79 businesses had also been assisted as part of the its Lancashire Innovation Network programme, while ‘tangible one-to-one support’ had been offered to a further 118 businesses.

According to its first quarter report from April to June, Regenerate has attracted £9.8million worth of private sector investment to the area, while more than 600,000 sq ft of industrial floor space has been taken up.

It said it had bid on behalf of Pennine Lancashire for £7.5m in the second round of bidding for the Government’s regional growth fund (RGF).

The bid was submitted in partnership with Lancashire’s local authorities, Lancashire County Council, chambers of commerce and the universities.

The RGF is worth £1.4billion over its three-year life span - just a third of the money previously made available for economic development and regeneration.

Steve Hoyle, Regenerate’s managing director, said: “The figures clearly show the impact that we are having on the local economy, but we are not complacent.”