When the last lump of coal was mined in County Durham, a once thriving and proud community also lost its beating heart.
Striking miners, who had fought to the last breath to preserve their livelihoods, and way of life, were ultimately defeated.
It would prove to be the death knell for the industry, but the Thatcher Government - ideologically driven in economic policy – did not have adequate plans to re-employ the men it had put on the dole.
Japanese car giant Nissan was given enough tax break sweeteners to open a new car plant in Washington in 1986, but it would soon become clear much more investment was needed.
As the pitmen had predicted, there were large scale colliery closures across the Durham coalfield and the notion of working underground to make a living was dead and buried.
Easington shut on May 7, 1993, and six months later Wearmouth, the last deep coalmine in the region, would follow suit.
Coming so soon after the felling of the North East’s other industrial giants, steelmaking and shipbuilding, the effect was devastating.
Hardworking and law-abiding skilled men were unable to find work to put food on their table to feed their families.
With joblessness, a sense of hopelessness followed and pit communities slid into deprivation with desperation fuelling drug-taking and alcoholism.
Inevitably, crime levels rose and now the miners who fought to save their communities during the strike of 1984-85 lament the lasting impact of de-industrialisation.
Stephen Guy, who grew up in Dawdon, said: “Forty years ago life was completely different.
“The community was vibrant. You did not need out-of-town shopping. The sports facilities I used were second to none.
“We had football, cricket and bowls. We had an outdoor swimming pool with a ten-metre diving board. There was always something to do as a young person.
“I cannot recall any crime. There will have been some but it was not in your face.
“Now, we are full of social ills. It breaks my heart. The houses are boarded up and shops are closed. Social amenities have all but evaporated.
“The Miners Welfare was once the heart of the community but it has all gone.”
Alan Cummings, who was the Easington Miners’ Lodge Secretary during the strike, still lives near the former pit site.
His biggest fear when the pit closed was the houses owned by the NCB would fall into the hands of private landlords, a fear that has come to pass.
He said: “With private landlords, they don’t care who they put in and now we have got a massive problem with class A drugs.
“We need new housing with affordable rents that are affordable to buy. There needs to be proper social housing.
“It would give employment to people to build these houses because the whole area is dying.
“Now we have got areas of deprivation, as there are right across the coalfields.
“These communities have been left to wither on the line.”
The cost-of-living crisis has been felt especially hard in East Durham where there are already disproportionate levels of poverty and an overreliance on food banks.
Graham Easterlow, from the East Durham Trust, said his organisation supports communities facing third and fourth-generational poverty.
He said: “We witness first-hand the devastation left behind in the wake of de-industrialisation and the poor policies of successive governments.
“Lack of investment in all aspects of life from infrastructure to services post the industrial decline has led to a range of structural deficits.”
Mr Easterlow said this was apparent in the area’s poor housing, fragile education systems, lack of youth provision, minimal investment in high streets, lack of employment, high levels of poor physical and mental health, inadequate transport networks, poor access to services, and low aspiration.
He said: “People live crisis-to-crisis in fragile situations often relying on the welfare state and services from charities to survive.
“Our decline has been so steep, and our area so deeply left behind, that we no longer have the ability to regenerate.
“We must now completely rebuild our socioeconomic infrastructure.
“The damage wreaked by decades of decline has not, however, destroyed our community spirit.”
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The threat of climate change and the realisation of the impact burning coal has on the environment means there are now once again opportunities for young people to develop careers in a new energy sector.
The growth of green renewable power is offers fresh hope to today’s students at East Durham College, which started Easington Technical College in the early 50s and is now looking to the future.
Vice-principal Carina Tomlinson said: “We understand the importance of training for the trades of the future which is why we have a key focus on the green, renewable and decarbonisation agendas.
“We already offer training in related disciplines such as heating, plumbing, electric and motor vehicle that have a focus on renewable energy and battery power, as well as our soon-to-be-launched domestic retrofit programmes.”
Easington MP Grahame Morris MP said there was ‘immense potential’ in the new industry, such as those setting up on Jade Business Park, producing the services, products and technologies of the future that can turbo charge the local economy.
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He said: “A community once built on coal, is leading the way towards powering a green and clean economy fit for the 21st Century.
“The miners' strike cast a long legacy on our community, however, I believe our once bustling industrial heartland can be reclaimed for the future.
“Immense progress has been made to recover our coastline from industrial spoil.
“Our coal-stained beaches, are now part of the heritage coastline, sustaining nature, and attracting people to visit our region.
“The steadfast resolution that is ingrained in our coalfield communities remains to this day, and we will overcome any challenge to offer hope, create opportunity and meet the aspirations of our people.”
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