MORE than 600 jobs are to be created in and around Skipton thanks to the rapid expansion of the town's own building society.

The town's business community has welcomed the news with open arms, knowing the increase in Skipton's daytime population will also boost general trade.

In around a year, Skipton Building Society's £9.1m headquarters extention will be complete and the company will begin the process of taking on more than double its existing local workforce.

The company has recently entered the top 10 of building societies and a growth in the number of branches across the country has enabled company directors to commit to the area in a much bigger way.

Already Keighley contractors Turner Constructions have finished the steel framework for the three-storey building, which will be tacked onto the existing HQ. When complete, the offices will house well over 1,000 admin staff and management, drawing on Skipton and the wider Craven district for employees.

David Hudson, head of facilities at SBS, told the Herald: 'We are looking very much to the future. While the existing building can accommodate an additional 35 to 40 people, the new development will house an extra 600 staff.

'We already have 420 employees at The Bailey site, but eventually we hope to be able to create around 600 new jobs for the people of Skipton and further afield.

'We have been able to invest in this new expansion simply due to the growth of the company.

'People often think we are mainly based in the north, but we have branches around the country and we have been expanding the network very rapidly recently. We are opening four more in the next two months, including one in Reading and another in London.'

Meanwhile around 200 construction workers continue to beaver away at the major building project on The Bailey, complete with two-storey car park for the hundreds of new staff.

Turner Constructions' contracts director Kenneth Shaw said: 'This is a very substantial and prestigious project, which will more than double the building's size and capacity. Located in the centre of Skipton, it could bring considerable economic benefits to the town.'

Simon Smith, president of Skipton Chamber of Trade, added: 'The Chamber welcomes the expansion of SBS and the creation of valuable new jobs which will help to maximise the trade of Skipton.

'With the arrival of new staff there will be more people shopping and spending their money in the town.

'The building society has been, and will continue to be, a valuable member of the Chamber of Trade.'

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.