THE recent hammer blow announcement that hundreds of steelworkers are to lose their jobs will not hold back the recovery of Redcar and the surrounding area, the town’s political leaders have insisted.

Tata Steel’s decision to cut nearly 400 jobs looked like a case of two steps forward and half a step back following Thai firm Sahaviriya Steel Industries’ (SSI) purchase of Teesside Cast Products, near Redcar, in March.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council leader George Dunning, a former steelworker of 30 years, admits the redundancy announcements left him reeling. But he is determined that it will not undermine the long-term recovery of a community where traditional industries sit alongside a thriving renewable energy sector.

“Steel and chemicals are our heritage and must be supported,” said Coun Dunning.

“As you drive in to this borough, on the right hand side of the trunk road you see the massive Wilton International site and on the left you come to the Lackenby and the Redcar steel plants. They define the landscape and are key to our success, so when we hear about job losses it’s easy to become downcast very quickly.

However, we must remember that both industries can be quite cyclical.

“I am feeling quietly confident about our prospects, and I say that as a former steelworker and someone who worked at ICI for a couple of years. I understand the challenges our traditional industries are facing.

“We must also look towards the new industries, such as renewables, to sustain us in the future.”

Redcar Liberal Democrat MP Ian Swales said: “We have had some great successes, and ones that we should all be really proud of.

“There has been more investment in the Centre for Process Innovation, which recently culminated in it becoming a national technical innovation centre for manufacturing.

“The Regional Growth Fund brought more success our way with funding being granted to Lotte Chemicals on Wilton, SSI for recruitment and training and Cleveland Potash for new manufacturing that was nearly £25m of the £450m awarded nationally.

I am sure that we will see more of this in the coming months and years.

“The North East Process Industry Cluster (Nepic) at Wilton is doing a fantastic job networking and promoting the chemical industry across the North-East.

“They have a long list of potential projects, many of which could end up in Redcar and Cleveland.

“Our area is already benefitting from the move towards green technology and it is well placed to be a real centre for the future.”

Mr Swales and Coun Dunning pointed to the £75m investment in Redcar seafront, which aims to attract an extra one million visitors to the town by 2025, as one of the reasons for optimism.

“Improving the local economy and providing people with more job opportunities are my top priority and I will continue to work hard to get our area really moving again,”

said Mr Swales.