The region has been repositioning itself for a revival for a couple of decades and the economic challenges of the last three years are speeding it with a massive growth in the drive for energy. Tyneside has become a centre for companies feeding into the oil sector and that industry is expected to create thousands of jobs as it blossoms into a £1bn operation within the foreseeable future.
The North East is now the centre of the UK’s renewable energy sector with biomass power stations created on Teesside, Tyneside and Northumberland by companies including Air Products, Sita and RES. The National Centre for Renewable Energy in Northumberland is creating hundreds of jobs as it builds a testing centre for wind turbines. Then there is the drive to turn Wearside into the UK’s capital of electric vehicle creation with the UK base of Japanese car giant Nissan at its centre.
But while the commercialisation of the North East’s technological expertise is growing apace with private backing there are still doubts about the effects of swingeing government spending cuts on some of the work to turn research from top universities like Durham and Newcastle into money.
This work has already blossomed into success with growing business centres like technology industry hub Netpark in County Durham - which offers excellent offices to let in the North East for start-ups. Science City and the International Centre for Life in Newcastle are also impressive, but their growth will inevitably be affected by spending cuts, albeit to a lesser extent than less well developed centres elsewhere.
The loss of hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs as well as the loss of contracts for local companies will hit the region hard. As will the demise of development agency One North East. But strong enough foundations are being built up to ensure the North East is resilient enough to rise again.
