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.
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