Consett - Economy

Economy

The Consett Iron Company was established in 1864, a successor to the original Derwent Iron Company of 1840, when the first blast furnaces were introduced. Over the next 100 years, Consett became one of the world's most prominent steel-making towns, and the name Consett became synonymous with iron and steel, making the steel for Blackpool Tower and Britain's most famous nuclear submarines.

Steel dominated Consett's economy for 140 years. The steelworks was visually spectacular, too, and the town was renowned for images of its tall cooling towers and other large plant looming over rows of terraced houses. The townspeople could hear the ghostly sound of the works through the night. During the iron and steel era a pall of 'red dust' hung over the town; airborne iron oxide from the steel-making plant. At its peak in the 1960s, the Consett steel works employed 6,000 workers, and it was nationalised to become part of the large British Steel Corporation. Although there was intense competition in the 1970s from both British competitors and from abroad, Consett steelworks remained relatively successful and was making a profit in the year that it closed. As the rolling mills were closed in the 1970s, despite local opposition, there were rumours and heated discussions over the future of the plant as a whole.

In 1980 the Consett steelworks were closed, with the loss of 3,700 jobs plus many more from the 'knock-on' effect in ancillary industries. It was a devastating blow, and the unemployment rate in Consett became double the national average. According to government publicity this closure was part of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government's strategy to revitalise UK industry, following the industrial action that had taken place in the UK in the 1970s. However, few in Consett believed this, and a deputation of steelworkers lobbied the government in London. It could be argued that it was part of a larger political strategy launched by Thatcher in the UK and Reagan in the USA to defeat the unionised working class, privatise industry, asset-strip and eventually deindustrialise large sectors of Britain and the USA. This allowed industry to move to low-wage economies abroad to provide higher returns on investments. The decision ripped the heart out of the local community. The steelworks had always avoided closure, even in difficult economic times. The social impact of the decision from Whitehall was quite devastating. This was often characterised by many of the local people at the time as "The Murder of a Town".

The town became one of the worst unemployment blackspots in Britain, and the unemployment figure reached 36 percent in 1981. The demolition of the works carved a massive hole in the heart of the town. The demolition was very thorough, and even the most imposing and architecturally important building in the town, the Company Offices, was not left untouched. To this day there is no permanent museum to the history of the steelworks apart from some pots that were used to transport molten pig iron from the blast furnaces to the steel plant, and its influence on Consett and its families over the generations has been quietly glossed over. Even the development plan implemented to re-build the town - Project Genesis - has a 'Year Zero' name which suggests there was nothing worthwhile before.

The closure of the British Steel works at Consett in 1980 marked the end of the Derwent Valley steel heritage, and the decline of the town of Consett. Along with the closure of coal mines, it was also a first step in the decline of all heavy industry in the Derwent Valley. Regeneration in the 1990s, through Project Genesis, went some way to repair the damage done, and unemployment came down to the national average, although this is partly due to outward migration and economic inactivity due to long-term illness, which is not included in the government figures, is high. As the current Coalition government launches its programme of austerity cuts to pay off the nation's deficit, Consett's workers are again feeling the pinch as the cuts bite into the public sector. Durham County Council, which provides a lot of employment for local people, is planning to reduce its workforce by about 1600 over the next three years from 2011.

The last steel ingot from the Consett ironworks was made into a cross and is kept at St Mary's RC Church, Blackhill.

Alongside the public sector, small and medium-sized businesses now provide jobs in the area. Phileas Fogg Company (County Durham), with its factory on the town's Number One Industrial Estate, were mildly famous for a few years from 1988 for their snack food "Made in Medomsley Road, Consett" television adverts. The Phileas Fogg Company is now owned by KP Snacks as part of United Biscuits. The Explorer Group, based in Consett, is the United Kingdom's second largest manufacturer of caravans.

Since 2000, several new housing developments have taken place on the former steelworks site and surrounding areas. Derwentside College, formerly sited at Park Road, moved to a new campus at Berry Edge in September 2002 and national retailers have moved into Hermiston Retail Park.