THE chairman of the Tees Valley Development Company (TVDC) has backed the call for a summit to discuss the future of the chemical industry in the area.
The suggestion - by Redcar MP Vera Baird - came on Tuesday after chemical company Basell Polypropylene announced it was shedding 160 jobs from its Wilton site, near Redcar, east Cleveland.
The company blamed over-capacity in Europe, but Ms Baird said many companies at Wilton were managing to work successfully despite a downturn in the global economy, and said the industry on Teesside needed more government investment.
Councillor Bob Gibson, TVDC chairman, said yesterday that the chemical industry was a key element of the local economy, despite recent cutbacks.
"I think it is very important that we put this closure, sad as it is, in perspective. The reality is that the Tees Valley remains one of the leading chemical centres in Europe, supporting over 12,000 jobs.
"That makes it a very major player in our local economy - and that is the way it will stay in the future.
"I believe that Vera Baird is entirely correct in saying that what we need is high-level discussions, involving both Government and the chemical companies, to discuss what measures can be taken at national, regional, local and industry level to ensure that our plants are able to compete as effectively as possible in very tough world markets."
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