MORE than 120 jobs are to be created after a gifts firm took on a major unit at a new business park.

And it is hoped that the move, from retail giant Findel, will signal the arrival of hundreds more jobs at the East Lancashire site.

Experts said the deal showed that there were “clear signs” of East Lancashire starting to recover from the recession.

The firm has signed upl to take one of the largest units at the new Burnley Bridge development in Hapton.

Findel will set up a 213,000 sq ft distribution centre for its subsidiary firm Express Gifts, which has a headquarters in Church.

Bosses behind the £68 million business park development, near junction nine of the M65, said Findel will become the “anchor tenant” for the new park and will start a flow of firms signing up for units.

The news has been welcomed by council bosses and business leaders as a huge boost for East Lancashire.

Mike Damms, chief executive of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said the area was starting to show signs of a recovery.

He said: “It is great news and is nice to see jobs come to the area.

“East Lancashire can be a great location with good transport and industrial links, with the possibility of good jobs and relatively good rates of pay.

“There is still a long way to go for the area, the economy was in decline before the recession, but there are signs of a recovery.

“To sell yourself you need to be self-confident and I think there are clear signs that the confidence is returning for East Lancashire.”

James Chapman, managing director of the Yorkshire-based firm Eshton, the developers behind the 680,000 sq ft business park, said he hoped the Findel deal would spark a rush of other firms signing on the dotted line.

“We see Findel as the anchor tenant,” he said. “We are in negotiations with several other companies and hopefully we will now see a few more signing up.”

Findel bosses hope the distribution warehouse will be operational by spring 2011, but a spokesman said that was dependent on the “developers of the Business Park receiving rapid approval for their plans for a new bridge over the Leeds-Liverpool canal, which will connect the site to junction 9 of the M65.”

Funding for that bridge is set to secured from the North West Development Agency very soon.

Coun Gordon Birtwistle, leader of Burnley Council, said he was delighted that so much faith had been shown in the town.

He said: “We have said all along that this new business park could create up to 2,500 jobs for Burnley.

“It is pleasing that Findel and Eshton have shown such faith in the town, it is fantastic that so many jobs are coming back now.

“We want to restore Burnley to being a prosperous town with quality jobs that pay well and this is a sign of that starting to happen.

“Most of the jobs and companies that are coming to the town now are manufacturing firms and we want to restore the town to its manufacturing roots.”

The announcement comes just a day after Nelson-based communications firm Daisy announced it is taking on 150 new staff.

Next week Pets at Home, the country’s leading pet care retailer, is to open a new store, following a £200,000 investment, on Burnley’s Anchor Retail Park, which will create 12 jobs.

And plans to open a new KFC restaurant and take away in Trafalgar Street, which are set to be heard by the council tonight, could create up to 30 new jobs.

Martyn Hardacre, assistant business support officer at Burnley Council, said: “We currently have around 20 firms looking in the Burnley area for property.

“This is made up of seven businesses from the town and 13 looking to move into the borough from across the North West.

“It is difficult to say how many of these inquiries will be converted into units being taken, it can range from 75 per cent to 10 per cent, but I would say the average is about 20 per cent.”