STEELWORKS TO REOPEN
Redcar was devastated when its steelworks, the town’s major employer, shut in 2015. Now a new deal could see steel jobs return within three years. We asked locals for their reaction...
STEELMAKING will return to Redcar within three years following the loss of its major employer in 2015, the Tees Valley elected mayor said.
A deal has been reached with three Thai banks to bring land at the former steelworks into public hands. It includes a plan to develop an electric arc steel furnace
A BITTER gale blowing straight off the North Sea chills the few shoppers braving the high street of one of Britain’s most deprived towns.
There is unanimous agreement that Redcar is in desperate need of help and voters fed-up with Labour have done the unthinkable and turned to Boris Johnson to lead them out of the malaise.
Under the late Mo Mowlam the seaside town, nestled at the edge of Teesside’s industrial sprawl, was a Labour stronghold which had never returned a Tory MP.
The situation remained until then 26-yearold Jacob Young secured a 15.5 per cent swing to snatch the seat from Labour’s Anna Turley, whose anti-Brexit stance saw her at odds with the 66 per cent of Leave-supporting constituents.
The vote was a cry for change and it looks set to make Redcar one of the first towns in the UK to benefit from the Boris bounce.
When then Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak announced a £71million investment in the derelict former SSI steelworks last month, it was made clear it was a reward for the faith shown by the North East electorate in Johnson.
The loss of the plant in 2015 was a devastating blow to Redcar, with 2,400 direct jobs lost and an estimated 1,000 more in the supply chain.
The new vision for the site has given cause for hope, a commodity sorely lacking in the last 10 years.
Mr Johnson has pledged to create 20,000 skilled jobs over two decades, with a radical overhaul of the 4,500acre site aimed at bringing in clean energy, technology and manufacturing firms from around the globe.
It was news warmly welcomed this week by voters who felt the windfall vindicated their election choice.
Malcolm Hunter, 73, a semi-retired decorator and life-long Tory, said: “I’m very pleased to hear something’s going to be done about the SSI site because it will encourage more investment in Redcar. “We’ve got a great asset here, the deepest port in eastern England which will make us a very attractive place to do business if the government can turn things around. The transport links and infrastructure are here.” At the counter at Goodswen butchers boss John Gibbon, 56, prays for people to return to the high street with money. He said: “When SSI closed it turned out to be more difficult than I imagined.
“I don’t think this area recovered from the 2009 recession. Back then you’d see two or three times as many people about. “There was surprise when the Conservatives got in, but there shouldn’t have been. “We had a vote of 66 per cent to leave the EU and we were ignored for three years. People won’t stand for that. “So now we have a Tory MP, who I voted for, and we want to see things change.
“The electorate have put their faith in Boris, but we want to see him deliver.”
At the fruit and veg stall where she works, Sheralyn Kent, 57, chuckled as she recalled risking the wrath of her children by voting Tory.
She said: “It started a few family discussions but I think they understood that there has to be a change in this town.”
At Pacitto’s ice cream parlour Marcus Pacitto, 54, said the town desperately needs a lift. He added: “Maybe we’re going to see that happening at last, but I’ll be one of those waiting to see.”
Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, independent councillor Mary Lanigan, says the revamp can kickstart improved fortunes. She said: “We need to use this money well to ensure what is one of the biggest industrial sites in Europe is even more attractive for investors.”
Lorraine Fawcett, 54, has returned to the town she grew up in after 35 years away to establish her shop The Northern Potter.
The Labour voter said: “Crime has risen, we’re seeing fifth-generation unemployment and a big drugs problem. There needs to be investment and it has to be deep.”