AI automation in Leyland and South Ribble.
South Ribble had 4,035 businesses in 2026. 11.0% of them employ 10 to 49 people, above the North West share of 9.4%.Source [1] Construction made up 9.8% of the borough's 51,000 employee jobs in 2024, almost double the British share of 5.0%. Manufacturing made up 13.7%, and transport and storage 6.9%.Source [1]
We cover all 39 towns and villages in the district. Most of what we build is delivered remotely, so the practical question is not how far you are from us. It is whether we understand the way your trade actually works. We will come out if it helps.
Written by Sami (Sam) Swain. Local facts checked 9 October 2026.
What is happening in South Ribble
Where the work is
- Leyland Trucks, part of PACCAR, builds the full DAF range at its Leyland Assembly Plant. About 40% is exported, and the company employs 1,000 people.Source [2]
- The council's employment land statement for 2023/24 lists Leyland Business Park, Lancashire Business Park and the Moss Side Employment Area, plus major sites at Cuerden and BAE Systems Samlesbury.Source [3]
- Lancashire Central at Cuerden won outline permission in December 2023 for up to 1.6 million sq ft of business space and up to 5,600 full time jobs once running. Maple Grove Developments is the developer.Source [4]Source [5]
- Part of the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone lies in South Ribble.Source [6]
Leyland town centre
- Leyland's Town Deal works were under way in June 2026, with a refurbished Leyland Market, a new market square, commercial space and affordable homes.Source [7]
Support for businesses
- On 9 October 2026 South Ribble Council's grants page said all schemes had closed while it reviewed 2026/27. It points firms to the British Business Bank, Rosebud Finance, Fhunded Angels and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. Email econdevt@southribble.gov.uk.Source [8]
Industries that matter in South Ribble
These sectors employ a bigger share of people here than they do across Great Britain, so they are where automation usually earns its keep first.
Manufacturing and engineering
Manufacturing is 13.7% of employee jobs against 7.3% in Great Britain.Source [1]
AI for manufacturingConstruction and trades
Construction is 9.8% of employee jobs against 5.0%.Source [1]
AI for construction and tradesLogistics and transport
Transport and storage is 6.9% of employee jobs against 5.0%.Source [1]
AI for logisticsHelp across Lancashire
- Boost is Lancashire's business growth hub. Its Business Support Helpdesk on 0800 488 0057 is open to every Lancashire business and to anyone planning to start one. Growth Lancashire runs the helpdesk on Boost's behalf.Source [9]
- Made Smarter North West helps small and medium manufacturing and engineering firms adopt digital technology. Firms with 249 staff or fewer and a turnover under £36 million, or a balance sheet under £18 million, can apply. It offers up to 50% match funding to a maximum of £20,000 for equipment and specialist advice, a leadership programme and funded digital internships worth up to £4,035. Boost is one of its delivery partners.Source [10]Source [11] Read our Made Smarter North West guide
- Boost's August 2026 Growth Hub Pulse reported Lancashire firms using AI for production planning, scheduling, documentation, engineering support, customer communications, reporting and administration.Source [12]
Grants and funded training that are open now are on our funding page.
Main towns in South Ribble
Leyland
Town, population 35,578, PR25
Home of Leyland Trucks (owned by Paccar), the Dr. Oetker pizza factory and Enterprise plc. Its Leyland Motors heritage is recorded at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum.
Penwortham
Town, population 22,570, PR1
Commuter town across the Ribble from Preston. Penwortham Hall was built in 1801 by John Horrocks, founder of Preston's cotton industry.
Bamber Bridge
Town, PR5
Site of the first calico printing anywhere in Lancashire, established by 1764. Now largely residential with shops concentrated on Station Road.
Farington
Village, population 7,868, PR25
Leyland Trucks has its HQ and assembly plant here, making it the area's dominant employer.
Longton
Village, population 7,752, PR4
Former brickmaking village. Longton Brickcroft, the old brickworks, is now a nature reserve.
Lostock Hall
Village, population 6,138, PR5
Former Tardy Gate Mill (calico and linen) and one of Britain's final steam locomotive sheds, closed 1968. The mill buildings now house small businesses.
Walton-le-Dale
Town, population 3,792, PR5
The Capitol Centre retail and leisure park was built on the site of the former Flats Mills. The village also hosts a park-and-ride into Preston.
Villages and smaller places we also cover
These are covered on the same terms. They are listed here rather than given a page each, because a page that only restates the district page helps nobody.
Broadfield
One of Leyland's six named areas.
Coupe Green
Small village with a primary school, one pub and a few shops. Royal Mail does not recognise it separately and posts it as Hoghton.
Cuerdale
Rural riverside parish where the Viking-era Cuerdale Hoard was found.
Earnshaw Bridge
Farington Moss
Part of Farington civil parish and, with Lostock Hall and Tardy Gate, one of the borough's 'Central Villages'.
Golden Hill
Gregson Lane
Higher Penwortham
The 1920s-onward semi-detached half of Penwortham on the higher ground above the Ribble
Higher Walton
Grew around a 19th-century cotton mill and was formerly known as Moon's Mill.
Howick Cross
Hutton
Home of Lancashire Constabulary headquarters, built on the former site of Hutton Hall, and of Hutton Church of England Grammar School.
Kingsfold
Housing estate area of Penwortham.
Little Hoole
Predominantly a farming community apart from the village of Walmer Bridge within the parish.
Lower Penwortham
Victorian terraced quarter of Penwortham along Leyland Road
Lowerhouse
Mellor Brook
Village on the A59 straddling the South Ribble and Ribble Valley boundary, close to the BAE Systems Samlesbury site
Middleforth Green
Historically significant as the site of the ford crossing the River Ribble into Preston.
Midge Hall
Has an animal feed mill and the test track used for cars and wagons from the Leyland Trucks factory.
Moss Side
Much Hoole
Horticultural parish with acres of greenhouses. Jeremiah Horrocks observed the 1639 transit of Venus while curate of St Michael's.
Nabs Head
Countryside hamlet in Samlesbury parish, best known for the Nabs Head inn and the walking route to Hoghton Bottoms
New Longton
Commuter village built out from the 1940s. It lost its railway station in the 1960s and relies on buses to Longton and Preston.
Samlesbury
BAE Systems Samlesbury and its aerodrome dominate employment, alongside an InBev brewery completed in 1972 and Samlesbury Hall, which draws over 50,000 visitors a year.
Samlesbury Bottoms
Mill hamlet on the River Darwen at the south end of Samlesbury. The 19th-century cotton mill now manufactures pet food.
Seven Stars
Tardy Gate
Named after Tardy Gate Mill. One of the borough's 'Central Villages' alongside Lostock Hall and Farington Moss.
Turpin Green
One of Leyland's six named areas.
Wade Hall
A Leyland housing estate and one of the town's six named areas.
Walmer Bridge
Local service centre with two pubs, shops, a luxury car distributor, a financial advisor and an ambulance station. Its working mill closed in 1931.
Walton Summit
Industrial estate developed by the Central Lancashire New Town Development Corporation, served by the M6, M61 and M65. Site of the Lancaster Canal's Walton Summit basin and Old Tram Road.
Whitestake
Split across parish boundaries, with part falling inside Farington civil parish.
Worden
One of Leyland's six named areas, centred on Worden Park.
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Sources
We opened and read every source below on 9 October 2026. If one has changed since, the source is right and this page is out of date, so please tell us.
- 1. ONS via Nomis, Labour market profile, South Ribble (BRES 2024 employee jobs, UK Business Counts 2026).
- 2. Leyland Trucks, About Leyland Trucks.
- 3. South Ribble Borough Council, Employment Land Position Statement 2023/24.
- 4. Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Central, Cuerden.
- 5. Lancashire County Council, Approval given for major employment site in Central Lancashire, 7 December 2023.
- 6. South Ribble Borough Council, Samlesbury Enterprise Zone Local Development Order No. 3 (2024), October 2024.
- 7. South Ribble Borough Council, Leyland Town Deal update, works continue with two principal contractors on site, 3 June 2026.
- 8. South Ribble Borough Council, Business grants and funding.
- 9. Boost, Lancashire County Council, Business Support Helpdesk.
- 10. Made Smarter, Made Smarter Adoption, North West.
- 11. Made Smarter, Made Smarter Adoption, in my region.
- 12. Boost, Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Growth Hub Pulse, August 2026, August 2026.