A YEAR on from one of the blackest days in its recent history, the tranquil beauty of an isolated dale masks a mood of anger and frustration.

Last January's announcement that a major employer was moving out could not have come at a bleaker time for Weardale, County Durham, following hard on the heels of the previous year's foot-and-mouth tragedy.

Lafarge UK's decision to shut its 37-year-old Blue Circle cement works at Eastgate cost 147 well-paid jobs.

Worse, it started a drain of nearly 50 young workers, many with families, who moved to other Lafarge sites and sparked fears for the future of schools, churches, pubs and shops.

Gloom also deepened when, in October, another 84 jobs were lost with the shock collapse of one of the dale's few remaining businesses, Weardale Steel, at Wolsingham.

The dale, it seemed, had come full circle since Lafarge's predecessor, Associated Portland Cement, took heed of some persuasive members of a council-led development committee and set up at Eastgate.

The clay, shale and limestone hidden under Weardale's hills won that 1960s argument but now residents fear that the only natural asset being seriously considered by a task force led by One NorthEast is its spectacular beauty.

They are demanding help to create "proper" jobs and are suspicious of projects solely aimed at attracting tourists.

Coming in to Weardale can be a bruising experience for outsiders, as One NorthEast chairman John Bridge found when he fronted the task force's consultation campaign at a lively public meeting at St John's Chapel and sessions with Stanhope and Wolsingham parish councils.

A broadband Internet service, a renewable energy centre and the reopening of Weardale's railway line are three proposals from the task group, which has 32 projects under consideration.

Local people have accused the force of inactivity and a refusal to listen properly to their views.

Outspoken county councillor John Shuttleworth claims that proposals to redevelop the Eastgate site have been "stone-walled".

Stanhope parish councillor Harry Irwin said: "You can't blame people in Weardale for thinking that nothing has been done. It is very important that we get something to bring real jobs as well as tourism. We have had nothing so far.

"The worst effects of the closure haven't hit us yet because people who left still have money in their pockets. Things will get a lot worse."

The dale's, MP Hilary Armstrong, who is also Government Chief Whip, said she understood residents' frustration.

She said: "The closure of Weardale Steel just added to people's sense of helplessness.

"What has happened over the past year is that people have woken up to the fact that there has to be a considered effort put into the future of Weardale and the probability that we won't get a large manufacturer with 150 jobs to offer.

"We have all begun to think much more seriously about what the dale has to offer its people.

"I don't think anybody wants it to be just somewhere where commuters live and tourists come. If we do have tourism, it will be linked to our industrial heritage.

"There has been criticism but it has been born out of frustration and a feeling that people don't want radical change.

"What is important is that we get something that is long term and sustainable."