De-industrialisation

De-industrialisation = the decline of a country’s traditional manufacturing industries
● Due to:
○ Exhaustion of materials
○ Loss of markets
○ Competition from NEEs
■ They promote cheaper labour/land
● UK industry traditionally based on:
○ Coal mining
■ Number of coal mines have declined from 3000 to 30 (1970)
■ Last working coal mines shut down in 2015
○ Iron and steel works
■ Needed supplies of coal, limestone and iron ore → finite resources
■ Much of the steel was used in shipbuilding
■ Shipyards closed → demand for steel declined
■ Last steelworks closed in 2015
○ Ship building
■ Closed down one by one as shipbuilding industries moved to South Korea/China
○ Chemicals
■ Made products like agricultural fertiliser and plastic
■ Used local coal
■ ICI (Imperial Chemical Industry) has closed down but others are still open

Car manufacturing
■ Depended of supply of iron and steel
■ Many car manufacturing industries have moved to NEEs
● Many industries are dependant on finite resources – which are running out → industries close down
● NEEs can manufacture goods at cheaper prices – many companies have located to these countries →
industries close down
Impact of deindustrialisation:
● North-east England was the first region to experience de-industrialisation
○ Was one of the first industrial regions at the start of the Industrial Revolution
● Towns like Easington Colliery have been affected
○ Easington coal mine closed in 1993
○ 1000+ men were left unemployed
○ 20 years later, town has still not recovered
■ Unemployment is still high
■ People are on low incomes
■ Businesses are struggling to survive
● De-industrialisation caused huge unemployment and economic problems in many parts of the UK
○ eg/ Glasgow, Liverpool and Sunderland

Government policies:
● The government has tried different strategies to revitalise north east England
○ Investment in new infrastructure and industrial parks
■ Makes area more attractive to invest in
■ Includes roads and industrial estates
○ Encouraging foreign investment (TNCs)
■ eg/ Nissan → new car plant was opened in Sunderland in 1986
■ Created jobs – employing up to 7000 people
■ Gives local economy a boost
○ Setting up a regional development agency and local enterprise partnerships (2012)
■ Supports local businesses
■ Improves skill level of workers
■ Will aid economic growth