County Councillor Julie Gibson, the Labour Group Shadow Spokesperson for Economic Regeneration and Growth, has welcomed the recent announcement that the new National Cyber Centre will be based in Lancashire. The permanent site for the centre will be established in Samlesbury and will draw together personnel from GCHQ, Ministry of Defence and MI6 under one unified command.
Cllr Gibson said: “The announcement is excellent news for the Lancashire economy and will bring massive benefits and economic regeneration to the County still recovering from the economic effects of COVID, but we must ensure that it delivers jobs and prosperity for all residents of Lancashire.
She continued: “When the news was announced it was described as providing “huge well-paid jobs and superb opportunities”. I welcome that, but I want to see people in the furthest part of the County, such as my own area of West Lancashire, Fleetwood, Pendle, Rossendale etc. being given the chance to also benefit from these opportunities and not just those in the immediate vicinity.
“We have fantastic universities that our young people should be encouraged to engage with and that is why I have called for school and college curriculums to be developed now that support training our young people to be able to take advantage of these opportunities. I would also urge all partners to look at developing an integrated transport system so that people across the County can have their fair share of the aspiration and economic regeneration that will come from this development.”
Cllr Gibson continued: “If the Government believes in a true “levelling up” agenda we must ensure that economic regeneration and growth can be delivered across all of Lancashire to ensure that all residents of the County can have the chance to develop their future careers. Who knows, we may find that the next ‘James Bond’ is here in the very heart of Lancashire……”(shaken but not stirred).