Ashington in Northumberland is to get more industrial development as it shares in £13.5mn of government investment in former coalfield areas in England, Scotland and Wales.
Projects at six sites from Cowdenbeath to Port Talbot will create hundreds of new jobs and support thousands more, according to the Treasury, bringing opportunity to areas that have suffered decline for decades.
In Ashington (Ashwood Business Park), a 49,500 square foot industrial development is proposed once the site is purchased – expected later this summer – and planning permission secured.
The money from the government’s Growth Mission Fund will pay for half of the construction costs of the new industrial developments which will house small and medium-sized businesses. The Coalfields Regeneration Trust – a charity dedicated to creating jobs and injecting growth into coalfield areas – would fund the other half, said the Treasury.
The funding would support entrepreneurs in those areas who wanted to start their own business – or business owners who wanted to expand their company – in their home town, rather than feeling forced to go to the next biggest town or city with a stronger economy.
Overlooked for too long
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “These areas have been overlooked for decades…Our investment in new industrial developments is one way we’re making [them] a stronger business destination where jobs and opportunity are created, not wasted. If you are an entrepreneur in a former coalfield area wanting to start your own business – or are already a business owner there wanting to expand your company – we are backing you.”
Changing lives
Andy Lock, chief executive of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, said: “This is fantastic news for coalfield communities, and this investment will deliver benefits for many years to come. Our industrial developments will create hundreds of jobs and economic growth for the coalfields, while the income generated will support more grassroots community organisations and vulnerable people in the coalfields. This funding will change thousands of lives in coalfield communities, taking us another step forward to address the challenging legacy of the pit closures.”
The Growth Mission Fund, from which this investment comes, is focused on supporting projects that have been previously overlooked which contribute to local growth, create jobs, support the regeneration and maintenance of heritage and culture assets, or other important local policy objectives, said the Treasury.
Comment: too little, too late
Any investment in the former coalfields is welcome, and of course other investments are being made. One only has to think of the “pride in place” and “left-behind places” funds that this government and its Tory predecessors have put into Blyth. But £13.5mn spread over six areas is a comparatively tiny amount, and coming 40 years, or two generations, after the pits closed, it is far too little too late.
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