AGAINST an international backcloth of economic doom and gloom, business and industry in East Lancashire is heading for the New Year full of promise.

That is the opinion of local business leaders who believe the region has shaken off most of the impact of the world-wide recession in 2002.

Mike Damms, chief executive of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said a new generation of companies was now emerging. "The local economy has done surprisingly well over the past 12 months," he said. "The number of jobs that have been lost is nowhere as bad as I had feared.

"Regrettably, manufacturing jobs will continue to decline because of exposure to cheap labour costs in the Far East and Eastern Europe."

However, Mr Damms believes that the rapid growth of the service sector in East Lancashire is creating new job opportunities in companies such as Accrington-based Fraser Eagle, the arrival of Capita in Blackburn and Darwen and MDA, of Mill Hill.

Add to that the growth of technology-based companies like the Lancashire Evening Telegraph Business of the Year, Promethean, Formfill and Ryder Systems and Mr Damms is hopeful for the future.

"East Lancashire is successfully managing the transition from a manufacturing dominated economy," he said. "There are still not enough white collar jobs in the area and I would like to see us having a bigger share of public administration jobs."

Phil Burgess, chief executive of Business Link for East Lancashire, is confident the resilience of the region's entrepreneurs will come through.

"We are working with lots of companies who are achieving wonderful things," he said. "My over-riding conclusion is that there are opportunities out there for people who are willing to get stuck in.

"By identifying new products and new markets, companies are enjoying year-on-year growth of 20 to 30 per cent. It all comes down to the drive and ambition of people running a business."

On the downside, Mr Burgess is concerned at the massive rise in the cost of business insurance that is starting to eat into profits. "Some of our client companies are seeing a five-fold increase in the cost of insurance cover which they have to absorb," he added.