JILL MORTIMER: Firm’s expansion would bring high skilled jobs to our town

"Expansion of JDR Cables' site would allow the plant to produce longer lengths of cable and compete with other market producers."

I was joined on my visit to JDR Cables Limited by the Prime Minister who shares my passion for investment in North East industry.

We discussed the potential for expansion of the site with staff members who informed us that this would allow the plant to produce longer lengths of cable and compete with other market producers. Only recently the company expanded with a new site in Blyth at the same time as securing the existing jobs at the Hartlepool site – expansion here would bring additional high skilled, high wage jobs to our town and further encourage the already growing investment in our area.

Boris Johnson re-stated the Government’s commitment to investing in the North East and this is something I will be fighting to ensure we continue to see moving forward.

PD Ports is one of Hartlepool’s largest businesses – whether through property, freight, shipping or warehousing, PD Ports is a major employer and is working to secure investment and encourage additional businesses to make Hartlepool their home.

PD Ports is also the Statutory Harbour Authority for Teesport and during my visit I was able to tour the Harbour Office and get a feel for how the Harbour Team oversees the arrival and departure of vessels, while ensuring efficient and safe navigation.

At the end of my visit, we sailed up the Tees and discussed the role of the fifth largest port in the UK, Teesport, in facilitating supply chain operations across the Tees Valley.

Teesport contributes £1.4 billion to the UK economy each year and visualising the huge scale of this piece of national infrastructure really foregrounded the exciting position we are in moving forward – if we keep encouraging new businesses and development through the Teesport we will hopefully continue to see the uplifting of our skilled workforce, and further high-skilled jobs and apprenticeships.

Finally, I’ve got a busy summer planned now we have reached the end of this Parliamentary term – ongoing campaigns, visits and meetings are quickly filling my diary but if you would like to arrange to meet with me over the coming weeks please do get in touch – [email protected]