A TROUBLED Lancashire multi-million 'skills city' has been given a qualified vote of confidence by the government.

In 2014 the Enterprise Zone at BAE Systems Samlesbury site was condemned by government ministers Penny Mordaunt and Greg Clark as ' the worst in the country'.

They said the project, managed by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, was the only one of 24 in England to have attracted no new businesses or produced any new jobs.

Tomorrow the Cabinet of Lancashire County Council, a key player in the LEP, is set to authorise spending of £12 million on road and drainage works including £500,000 on relocating skylarks and lapwings to a new home.

A Government spokesman said yesterday:“All of the 24 original zones, including the Lancashire EZ have supported job growth and seen successful site development."