Do you remember how, in 2015, Planning Inspector Harold Stephens said that County Durham should plan for economic decline, not growth?
Currently, County Durham Labour is publishing the economic highlights of its ‘120 THINGS LABOUR HAS DONE FOR DURHAM’, and they show how Durham County Council has proved Mr Stephens to have been VERY wrong:
• The business parks at Integra 61 (Bowburn) and Jade (Hawthorn) are thriving and there is major regeneration at Merrington Lane and Peterlee.
• DCC’s Aykley Heads site in Durham – the home of Atom Bank and Salvus House – was recently named in the Kinsella report as one of the UK’s top ten ‘fintech clusters’.
• NETPark (Sedgefield) is doubling in size; and last year Business Durham (DCC’s economic development arm) was reconfirmed as lead of the North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence, one of just five regional centres supported by the UK Space Agency.
• Business Durham has secured £18 million funding in the last three years for programmes which have helped 1,300+ County Durham businesses.
• The Council’s Business Energy Efficiency Project has to date helped 353 smaller local firms (SMEs).
AND AT AYCLIFFE?
• We can SEE the developments at Forrest Park – which is being exhibited all over the world by the Department of Trade and Industry as a flagship north-east development.
• Hitachi have committed to Aycliffe Business Park with recent investment. And Tekmar, Stiller, Finlay Structures, Razorblue, Excelpoint, Howdens and ALM Engineering are amongst many firms to have announced recent successes … even in the midst of the pandemic.
• Meanwhile, Business Durham has continued it cooperation with the wonderful Aycliffe Business Park Community to provide webinars and networking events.
ALL THIS MEANS JOBS
• Durham Employment and Skills have announced employability support to 1,500+ people, plus 2,500 registrations on community employment programmes over the last three years.
• The £29 million Durham Works youth employment initiative has supported 7,500 16-24-year-olds.
So well done to Paul Howell MP for bringing the Treasury to Darlington, with its 750 jobs, in the recent government Budget. However, I cannot but point out that DCC’s Budget last month plans for 30,000 jobs.
So well done Teesside! And thank you our Labour County Council, as we work together to help our County grow into a wealthier community.
Cllr John D Clare
(DCC Cabinet Support for Economic Regeneration, ‘Aycliffe Ambassador’ for Aycliffe Business Park)
