BOSSES at a Rossendale company have been left bemused by a council's response to its offer to buy land to expand.

Bacup-based engineering specialists, Pennine Group, wants to build its new corporate HQ at Futures Park, as well as retaining its current site at New Line.

But almost three months after putting in a formal offer, Pennine are still awaiting a definitive answer from Rossendale Council and fear a meeting arranged for early next month will delay the process further.

Pennine Group chairman, Andy Russell, said: "The whole process is shambolic.

"We were told to speak to the council agent responsible for Futures Park and, when we did, he said there were certain criteria that would have to be met, so we tailored our offer accordingly.

"The council leader, David Hancock, inferred only last week that the conditions for use of the land were set by the North West Development Agency but now the NWDA are saying the opposite. Does anybody know what is going on?

"Now they are holding a meeting in private - which cannot make a decision because as there will be no councillors there.

"The whole thing is utterly baffling. We need to know what is going on."

Pennine fear they will be forced to move out of Rossendale completely if the council reject their offer.

Established in Bacup in 1989, the firm has a turnover of £12million a year, and was set up by Mr Russell and fellow director David Mitchell, who met while at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School.

A spokesman for the NWDA, said: "No company has been rejected and a meeting is taking place in June with representatives from the council and other partners.

"Companies wanting to move into Futures Park do not have to meet any criteria set out by us. The council are the ones responsible for deciding who will be located at Futures Park."

Gillian Bishop, deputy chief executive of Rossendale Council, added: "We are going to consider all the options. Nobody has been ruled out, nobody has been ruled in."

The meeting is on June 3 at Rawtenstall Town Hall.