THERE have been painful times for the North-East economy over the past three decades.

Our shipbuilding, steel-making and coal mining industries used to employ tens of thousands of people. Between them now they employ a few hundred.

Communities which had depended on these traditional industries have had to struggle to survive; but survive they did.

For every grim tale of redundancies and closure, there has been a success story.

Today, we need only take a look at Derwentside, Wearside, Tyneside and Teesside to see that new economic life can emerge from the remains of old industries.

It is from these transformations that the communities of South-West Durham must take solace.

We do not try to hide the economic suffering of Spennymoor, where the redundancies at Black & Decker will take to 2,000 the number of jobs lost at three of the town's biggest employers in three years. Or the suffering of Weardale after the closure of the former Blue Circle cement works. Or the suffering of Teesdale because of cutbacks at Glaxo.

But it is right to highlight examples elsewhere in the region, where there is ample evidence that communities can recover from the most dire of economic circumstances.

However, they cannot recover on their own. They need investment to kickstart the process of revival.

Through The Northern Echo's Working For a Future Campaign, we will highlight the positive aspects of our region, which make it attractive to potential new investors and employers.

We will also demand that the fullest range of support is made available to hard-pressed communities from local, regional, national and European tiers of government.

The North-East has discovered to its cost the danger of having a narrow-based economy dependent on relatively few major employers.

The region has suffered because of the absence of a small business culture.

It is imperative that we learn the lessons of the past, and invest in smaller indigenous firms which are committed to both staying in and growing in the region.