The District of Easington is a place that just keeps on improving.
The Council has made massive progress in the last 6 years where on the physical side of regeneration it is plain to see that over £300m of investment has been pumped into the area. Flagship schemes which have come to fruition include the exciting Dalton Park retail outlet, revamp of Seaham Promenade, relocation of the Seaham Harbour Dock Company and Peterlee Town Centre. There are also a number of significant private sector development such as the exceptional Seaham Hall Hotel Complex.
Years ago these schemes were just on the drawing board but with assistance from all levels of the Council and the Community they are now fully up and running. This is a clear sign that the Council's ambition to make the District Great is being turned into reality.
Much of the regeneration is aimed at providing new opportunities for employment to replace the thousands of jobs lost due to the closure of the mining industry. So far we have:
Open for business
The District of Easington is part of the wider region of Northern England which is now the preferred European location for investment by companies from all over the world, including the Far East, Scandinavia, mainland Europe and the United States. Recent surveys have shown that the North East offers one of the world's best investment opportunities for manufacturing industries. It also has one of the highest productivity levels in Britain and exports a greater percentage of its output than any other UK region.
The district's industrial history may have been rooted in traditional sectors of agriculture and coal mining, but today its economy is one that is strong and diversified with a range of traditional and new manufacturing industries working alongside a developing and prosperous service economy.
The district is an Objective 2 area for the period 2000-2006 and therefore benefits from substantial new funding from Europe which will lay firm foundations for the area's long term prosperity. The district also benefits from Assisted Area Status, giving access to Regional Selective Assistance for job creation and protection of existing jobs through investment in new processes.
In addition, enterprising businesses know that the District of Easington is home to the East Durham Enterprise Zone which provides financial and operational benefits to inward investors across its six Enterprise Zone sites up to November 2005. The sites are located around Peterlee and Seaham and companies investing in these can enjoy financial benefits and other advantages including:
The success of the district's Enterprise Zones has exceeded all expectations since it was set up in 1995, with investments totalling over £40 million and job creation figures topping more than 4,000. Bracken Hill Business Park is now up to full capacity with the Inland Revenue taking the last remaining site where their call centre is one of a number planned to be located throughout the country, which will deal with tax credit issues over the phone.
The district joined the call centre boom when Orange opened its customer contact centre at Brackenhill Business Park in February 1999. By attracting leading names such as EDS, Orange, Nvisage and now the Inland Revenue, the Business Park has brought a new type of employment to the district. Other EZ sites have also attracted such centres. As part of the Government's re-vamp of the Pensions Service, Dawdon Business Park is now home to one of 26 new national service centres that employs almost 400 staff.