Teesside business review 2010 - Part IV
JUST as the year started with snow and ice, so it came to an end in the same fashion. Karen McLauchlan concludes her look back at the local economy’s highs and lows in 2010.
OCTOBER
Teesside was allowed to take control of issues such as planning, housing and transport as the region became the first in the UK to successful bid for a Local Enterprise Partnership. The bid, affecting Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton, was submitted by Tees Valley Unlimited, which is made up of public, private and voluntary bodies. The Teesside LEP bid was the first of only 24 areas around the country to be chosen, giving it greater responsibility in areas including planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure, employment and enterprise and supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.
Business and Enterprise North East announced plans for a major restructure which could result in the loss of 135 jobs - nearly one third of its workforce.
Stephen Catchpole took over as the managing director of Tees Valley Unlimited - the public and private sector partnership which works to improve the economic performance of the area.
Stockton car parts company Nifco UK celebrating being the best in Britain. The company took the top two honours at the 2010 Plastics Industries Awards.
The Government announced its long-awaited spending review, sparking fears tens of thousands of public sector workers will lose their jobs. Chancellor George Osborne confirmed 490,000 posts – including redundancies – would disappear nationwide after unveiling cuts totalling £81bn over four years. A Durham University study published later in the year concluded that the North-east stood to see 49,000 jobs lost as a result of the review – including 20,000 in the private sector.
A £1.5m refurbishment of the Edwardian Cargo Fleet building got under way with owners Python Properties hoping the project will kickstart the regeneration of the surrounding area.
Two aircraft carriers were spared from cuts as part of the Government’s spending review a decision which was welcomed by Teesside firms who have already won millions of pounds of work on the vessels.
A new £25m chemical plant was announced for Teesside, to manufacture a key electric battery component. Lucite International’s Billingham site will be the location for the new facility which will make a product for batteries used in both hybrid and electric cars being sold in the UK and Europe.
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC), a sister company of Lucite International within the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group, said it had chosen the Cassel Works site to begin the manufacture in Europe of electrolyte, the active ingredient in Li-ion batteries.
