CONCERN is growing at the rapid decline in the number of people employed on industrial estates in the Sedgefield borough.

Figures from Sedgefield Borough Council show that employment on the industrial estates has dropped by more than 700 in two years.

Newton Aycliffe Industrial Park, by far the largest estate in the borough, has lost almost 1,000 jobs since 1998.

The fall is mainly due to the closures of Fujitsu and Claremont Garments. But the figures do not include job losses at Silverscreen, Krupp Hoesch, Eaton Axles and Perstorp, which will show up in next year's report.

Newton Aycliffe councillor Tony Moore said: "There is going to be more redundancies in the future, and in Sedgefield borough we are losing our young people.

"It seems that all of the Government money is going down South, and that is where our young ones are heading.

"The council do their best with the resources they have got, but these Government agencies have got big funds and I think we need to get more of them."

Employment in Spennymoor has suffered in the last two years from the closure of Electrolux and Rothmans.

This has been offset by growth in other areas, but the current figure of 5,709 is still 800 fewer than the high of 1995.

Councillor Ben Ord called for a review of the Barnett Formula, which gives Scotland a disproportionate amount of Government money for job creation schemes.

He said: "Jobs are not being replaced and Spennymoor is in particular need of economic regeneration. Spennymoor is built around three large factories, and once one or two of them get hit, then it devastates the town, so we need a balance of small firms."

Ferryhill is also an area for concern, with a drastic decline in the past year because of the closure of Praxis Tailoring.

John Litherland, the council's director of planning and technical services, admitted there was cause for concern, but said there was also room for optimism.

He said companies, including Senstronics and Filtronic, should help to create jobs in Newton Aycliffe, and companies moving into the former Electrolux and Rothmans sites in Spennymoor should stabilise the situation there.

He said: "The council is concerned about the future of manufacturing in the area, but the situation is holding up remarkably well so far.