Boost for resort as call centre arrives (From Gazette & Herald)

Boost for resort as call centre arrives

A leading call centre provider, 1st Locate, has announced plans to open a new Scarborough based centre in August, a move expected to create more than 80 jobs in the area by the start of 2006.

After considering a number of options, 1st Locate is bucking the trend of call-centres moving to India by choosing the East Coast as its preferred location to expand.

The company, currently based in Leeds, boasts a client list which includes such household names as Powergen, Yorkshire Water and Scottish Power.

The new call-centre will be located in Scarborough Business Park near Eastfield.

Initially, the centre will have 40 staff, increasing to 80 by the beginning of 2006.

The announcement represents one of the largest inward investment projects for the town in recent years and was due in a large part to the work of Scarborough Borough Council's Regeneration Team together with york-england.com, the Inward Investment Agency for North Yorkshire.

In May york-england.com appointed Rob Littlefair as its first inward investment manager with specific responsibility for the North Yorkshire Coast area.

Building on its success in York, york-england.com is becoming increasingly involved in promoting the North Yorkshire coast and helping to put Scarborough more firmly on the map for investors.

Adam Purser, marketing director of york-england.com, said: ''The decision by 1st Locate to open its new call-centre in Scarborough is a very positive development for the town.

''Not only will it help create new jobs in the area but the new call-centre will also help bring a new dynamic to the local business community.

''We believe Scarborough is well positioned to lead the areas bid to attract more investment and will continue to work closely with Scarborough Borough Council to help ensure that we convert investor interest into new business and jobs.''

According to Andrew Barclay, managing director at 1st Locate, some 80,000 UK jobs have been lost to call-centres relocating to countries such as India in the last five years.

''I feel the UK customer service industry has been very hasty in moving so many operations overseas to places like India.

''It is totally unnecessary. Our new call centre in Scarborough will prove this and show that we can compete here in the UK in terms of productivity, costs and in the quality of service.''

Updated: 13:40 Wednesday, June 29, 2005