Talks to save the Hitachi factory in Newton Aycliffe have now moved on to a 'range of options' The Northern Echo understands.

Government moves to save the plant and its 750 workers had taken a new turn after Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the company had already turned down one of the possible solutions.

The revelation that talks are progressing so well that there are multiple options adds to the feeling that the dark negativity of previous months is being replaced with a glimmer of hope that something significant can be salvaged.

A Hitachi statement sent to The Northern Echo tonight said: “We have regular dialogue with the UK Government about potential solutions for Newton Aycliffe. Conversations are ongoing and constructive.”

In response to a question from Northern Echo Editor Gavin Foster at the Northern Powerhouse Partnership's  North East Growth Summit in Sunderland earlier today, Secretary of State for Business and Trade Mr Reynolds had said: "I had a conversation with the Secretary of State for Transport fairly recently to ask for an update on the situation.

"There was a procurement decision that we were looking at as a short term answer, but my understanding is that we were able to put an opportunity to the company that didn’t quite work for them. That’s why it hasn’t been solved and those talks are still ongoing there." 

That signals a change of attitude, with the new Government keen to make clear that Mr Reynolds and his team had been making progress in offering a possible way out of the Hitachi crisis.

READ MORE: Officials 'working at pace'

The future of the plant was thrown into chaos earlier this year after a production gap left hundreds of jobs at the site hanging in the balance. 

The Northern Echo, which has been campaigning for the Government to step in and save Hitachi since March, reported recently that talks remained ongoing between officials and the Japanese train builder, with a range of options on the table as dwindling orders continued to spark concerns that the workforce could soon be laid off, and the whole future of the site put at risk.

All of our Hitachi stories are HERE

Only a few days ago, Defence Secretary John Healey told us: “I really feel for the workforce there because this has been going on for months, if not years, that uncertainty. 

“So there is a new government, we are 10 weeks into office, and there are really active negotiations now going on led by the Department of Transport.”

 

.CLICK THE PIC (Image: Newsquest)

 

Negotiations with the previous Tory Government had sometimes seemed to be lacking urgency and commitment. But that seemed to have changed as the new Government swept in keen to reveal some positivity among so many difficult decisions it was making elsewhere.

There has been a suggestion of good engagement levels, wheels starting to turn and diplomacy rather than division. None of that has changed and Mr Reynolds' claim today suggests that both sides feel confident enough to challenge each other to do more.