The fabric of the Wear Valley economy was ripped apart by a series of high-profile job losses. Mike Parker and Catherine Jewitt spoke to the organisations that have spent the past 12 months trying to resurrect the rual economy.

IN THE tranquil setting of Auckland Castle, Iain Phillips declared: "The people of Wear Valley have a right to a future". The chief executive of Wear Valley District Council was expressing the extreme feeling of devastation caused by jobs blow after jobs blow.

Speaking at a jobs summit, Mr Phillips was calling for action from the leading organisations in the North- East.

Marks & Spencer's decision last summer to move its clothing production abroad was the straw that broke the camel's back.

It left textiles firm Sara Lee Courtauld high and dry and resulted in the closure of its Bishop Auckland plant with the loss of 340 jobs.

In isolation, the redundancies at the Tindale Crescent operation may have been bearable. But they came on the back of the closure and/or job cuts at LaFarge cement works (147 job losses), Weardale Steel (83), Ohmega (80), Barbour (87), Warner Electric (65), Nmc (20) and Solar Glass (99).

In 12 months, 921 jobs were ripped from a rural economy too fragile to support such losses.

The jobs summit, held on June 13 last year, attracted representatives from central and local government, regional and local agencies and members of parliament.

Councillor Olive Brown, leader of Wear Valley District Council, said the summit had a galvanizing effect.

"A year ago we had suffered a real disaster, with the accumulated effect of employer closures and job losses," she said. "The jobs summit did certainly raise awareness of our needs.

"It made people realise we needed help. In the past, we have probably been too prepared just to do everything ourselves but now we are asking for support from outside bodies. The feeling is now much more upbeat and, touch wood, things are going well."

Coun Brown believes the summit was responsible for helping organisations to work together and securing an extra £1.7m from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

It also brought £1.2m European grant aid to help bring the Weardale Railway back to life and has provided money to look at new uses for the redundant LaFarge cement works, in Eastgate.

Each and every organisation left the summit with a clear list of priorities (listed below) identified to restore the local economy. Action was seen to be needed on jobs, technology, infrastructure and tourism.

On the jobs front, the target of bringing 750 new jobs by 2007 was set.

One NorthEast, County Durham Development Company and the Government Office for the North-East all played a part in attracting inward investment.

Stewart Watkins, executive director of County Durham Development Company, said: "There needed to be a balance. Some in the Dale were saying 'Give us jobs', whereas others were saying 'This is the last thing we want, put the green fields back'."

More than £100,000 investment has attracted 17 new businesses - ranging from injection moulding to consultancy services - to the area and with them 130 new jobs and safeguarded 53 more.

Mr Watkins said: "I don't think you will see enormous job opportunities, hundreds at a time, but what I hope to see is a diverse, robust economy for the area with many small firms rather than reliance on larger companies. It is about spreading the risk as far as we possibly can, as well as increasing opportunity."

The biggest success story has been Innovation House, a 16-unit development that was filled practically before it opened.

The jobs summit provided the focus for all agencies to be vigilant for opportunities to improve the Wear Valley.

Alan Clarke, chief executive of One NorthEast, said: "You have to be realistic in an area like this. You have got to have something that is fit for purpose. But we will look wherever we can for things that are appropriate for areas like Wear Valley.

"We have rolled our sleeves up and very much got stuck in."

The information technology landscape of the region has been transformed by One NorthEast working with BT to bring broadband to large parts of the Wear Valley and by Durham County Council to make sure that, through its DurhamNET project, high-speed Internet access is available to more remote locations.

Of the bigger projects identified, the Eastgate cement works, is potentially the most exciting development.

Studies are ongoing to see if geothermal 'hot rocks' are present beneath the surface that could be turned into renewable energy. If economically viable, the site could become both a visitor attraction and scientific centre.

More tangible is the Weardale Railway, which opens on July 17.

Jonathan Blackie, regional director of the Government Office for the North-East, said: "For a lot of people the re-use of the former cement works represents the symbolic transformation of the area. When we see the railway open in July that is going to be a huge boost also."

It all adds up to exciting times for the Wear Valley and for John Hamilton, chairman of the Weardale Task Force.

He said: "We are starting to see things happen on the ground. A strategy has been developed and it is now being implemented. With the testing of the hot rock theory at Eastgate coming soon, projects like Weardale Renewable Energy Centre are taking shape.

"We are making real progress with tangible schemes and informing people as we go, so the feeling is very positive. There has been a change in attitude towards what is happened in the Dale and the residents and professionals are starting to feel more positive. We have a long way to go but real progress has been made and the next six to 12 months will see more developments.

"I think the high profile of the jobs summit reminded people of the need to act quickly and positively and prevented complacency setting in."

Mr Blackie summed up the driving force behind keeping the various projects on track, saying: "The area has one of the most outstanding landscapes in Britain, which is a huge asset. But people cannot eat the landscape and there has got to be a range of jobs."

And with the ongoing development of Harperley prisoner of war camp, the area has a number of attractions that will help raise its profile and bring with it much needed economic benefits.

Coun Brown said: "The Renewable Energy Centre, Weardale Heritage Railway, Harperley PoW Camp are among the schemes that will all together revitalise the district from the top of the Dale down to Crook and Bishop Auckland."

* See The Northern Echo all this week for more success stories arising out of the Wear Valley Jobs Summit.