The North East Region

The North East of England Region includes Northumberland, Durham, Tyne and Wear and the Tees Valley. Boundaries extend from just south of Scotland in the north to Cumbria and Lancashire in the west and to the North Yorkshire moors in the south. The Region is an area of geographic contrast with vast areas of outstanding beauty and a strong industrial heritage. There are good transport infrastructures and offshore resources of oil and natural gas. The port of Tees is the second largest in the UK in terms of tonnage, has extensive experience in providing services to the chemical industry and operates a wide range of European and worldwide routes. Keilder Reservoir provides an ample water supply for the whole region and there is a good supply of brownfield and greenfield sites available for development.

Traditionally here has been a centre for chemicals, steel, heavy engineering, coal mining and shipbuilding. Restructuring and decline of traditional industries led to a period of high levels of unemployment, large areas of derelict and contaminated land, and problems of attracting and retaining highly skilled staff. Predominance of large industrial employers also resulted in a dependence culture that fostered low levels of entrepreneurship.

A long history of science, technology and innovation exists within the region. The petrochemical industry started in the North East in the 1700s with the production of Alkali and the first large scale chemicals works was founded in the Tees Valley in 1833 for the production of sulphuric acid and fertilisers. ICI was formed in 1926 with activities mainly based on oil and petroleum fractions from creosote and coal and subsequently the manufacture of plastics and the discovery of polyethylene in 1934.

Despite diversification and the restructuring of the industry, the concentrations of chemical sites at Wilton, Billingham and Teesmouth still exist, and the Tees Valley remains one of the UK's main bulk chemical areas for manufacture and research. High levels of integration in pipelines, services and waste treatment exist for petrochemicals, fertilisers, bulk and semi-bulk chemicals, plastics and pigments. Apart from the wide range of hydrocarbon fractions arising from North Sea oil and gas, a number of the chemicals manufactured provide an important resource for downstream manufacture of more complex materials. Remaining challenges for the industry in the North East are similar to those in other European Areas. These include issues such as increased competition from outside the EU, e.g. from America, Japan and the Asian economies. Few headquarters of multinational companies located in the Region leading to important decisions for the area being made in other countries.

The Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit (JSU) represents the North East of England on the European Chemical Regions Network. It is a Local Government Organisation that represents the five Unitary Authorities in the Tees Valley. As part of the economic strategy work the unit undertakes, a UK network of Chemical Regions was formed: The Development Initiative for Chemical Industry Dependent Areas (DICIDA).