EIGHTY jobs are to be created as part of an multi-million pound refurbishment of a hotel.

In the past 12 months, at least £8m has been spent on refurbishing Gisborough Hall Hotel, on the outskirts of Guisborough.

The four-star Grade II listed hall is the ancestral home of the Chaloner family and has been in the current Lord Gisborough's family since 1857.

The hall has undergone an extensive refurbishment programme which has retained its Victorian and Edwardian heritage. With it has come 80 jobs - a welcome tonic for an area which suffers above average unemployment.

A jobs fair held in the market town at the end of last year helped to attract people to the development.

The jobs include hotel porters, chefs, kitchen staff, receptionists, waiters, bar staff, banqueting and housekeeping staff.

The development has brought in Kim Yardley as general manager from the four-star Dart Marina Hotel, in Dartmouth, Devon.

He said: "I think Gisborough Hall will start putting a little more affluence into the town as people who stay will spend their money in the town, and I think anything that creates job opportunities has got to be good for any area with unemployment.

"We have aimed at people wanting a change of career or people who want to start their careers in a professional environment."

The hall now features 71 bedrooms, including three four-poster suites, Tockett's Restaurant - a dining venue aimed at the top end of the four-star market, and first class banqueting, conference and beauty facilities as well as a function suite which can sit up to 300 people.

The hotel has been granted a civil wedding licence and has 65 weddings booked ahead of its reopening at the beginning of March.

External works have included car parking, lighting, and landscaping to complement the Jacobean style hall that faces the Cleveland Hills.