LOCAL Government Minister Hilary Armstrong is to put pressure on cement company Blue Circle to secure the future of its Weardale plant.
The company, which employs 170 people at its Eastgate site, is nearing the end of a production review to decide where 350 redundancies will come nationally in the next two years.
Ms Armstrong, South West Durham MP, met senior managers at the Weardale plant yesterday.
She said: "The review is not yet completed, and I certainly think it's going to be into the next month before decisions are taken. I will be putting pressure on them nationally to make sure we retain Blue Circle in Weardale. The plant is doing everything possible and I think they have a good case to put to them."
The review of operations is across eight UK works and the head office. The firm hopes many jobs will be shed through early retirement and voluntary redundancies
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