A JOB-creation agency serving Furness is to close at the end of December having failed to get a decision on a key £1 million grant.

Furness Enterprise, based at Lindal-in-Furness, was set up in 1991 on the back of major redundancies at the Barrow shipyard.

But it has helped companies in the town and nearby Ulverston, Dalton and Lindal create 10,500 jobs during its 23-year history.

It says a fresh bid submitted in June to the Coastal Communities Fund for just over £1 million would have seen it carry on for a further two-and-a-half years.

But the grant has 'not yet been determined' despite what FE said were 'intensive efforts to achieve a successful result'.

It means seven job losses at the company after its board agreed to wind down the company before it ground to a halt through lack of cash.

The grant is given ministerial approval at the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and managed by the Big Lottery Fund.

Chief executive Harry Knowles, 66, who was expecting to retire in 2015 and hand over to a successor, said: “I am very grateful to the Coastal Communities Fund which enabled us to continue a range of activities of major benefit to the Furness economy.

"It is very disappointing that our bid for a new supply chain initiative which would enable this area to capture much more of the investment benefit for local companies from major projects is still not determined after five months.

"We have simply ‘run out of road’ as a company and that means the loss of considerable expertise built up over many years by a highly skilled small team."

Chaiman Steve Pryer said: "The Board of Directors have given all their support to the Executive Team as they have worked hard to secure future funding. Unfortunately this has not come about so an organisation which has worked hard to secure jobs and prosperity for the Furness area has to close. The board wants to thank the Furness Enterprise team and all our partners for their tremendous work and support since 1991”.

Over the last two years, using core funding from the CCF, Furness Enterprise says it has provided 'an intensive programme of assistance to businesses and individuals'.

It has led to 215 jobs being created and 189 unemployed people given specific training with financial support to help them get a job.

During its history, it has also played an advocacy role for the Furness area and says it has safeguarded 4,000 jobs and helped 1,500 unemployed individuals back into work.