Growing up in Redcar is small; it’s big news when the tiny New Look in town has a job vacancy and an achievement if you get the job. Growing up in Redcar is seeing value in any job, because having a job means you’re doing well. Therefore, a Blast Furnace providing thousands of jobs for several decades was a gold mine for families across the borough.
What has always seemed apparent to me, is Redcar’s bar has been set so low, that jobs are the most important thing. We all know this, and Ben Houchen knows this, just check out all the jobs that have been available at Teesworks for the past couple of years. Advertising that many jobs in Redcar and Cleveland is like attracting moths to a flare. Political preferences have swung 180 recently, we have elected leaders who have identified our plight after a successful General Election and used pork barrel politics to retain the vote. It has led to Teesport, Teesworks and a 25 million regeneration fund. It seems logical for a town to continue supporting a party which is promising more jobs and to support the demolition of the Blast Furnace, Coke Ovens and the rest of the steelworks site. The Teesworks developmental plan has changed its stance, and all of our steelmaking structures must come down for jobs. Though, this was not always the case. Back in 2019, the South Tees Master Plan accepted the decades long cultural and historical significance of two structures - the Blast Furnace and the Dorman Long Tower. So what changed? https://www.southteesdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/South-Tees-Master-Plan-Nov-19.2.pdf See section 4.04 where you will find a glorious picture of the now demolished Dorman Long Tower. To put it simply - money. A simple message to put over to the masses to quell any argument. The plan highlights the ‘numerous examples around the world of where retention of heritage assets from iron and steelmaking industries have contributed to the overall success of regeneration programmes, helping to create national and global identity and recognition.’ This was a major argument by heritage supporters, who pointed out Germany’s ability to retain their industrial buildings, use them for commercial and conservation purposes and creating a vast landscape of heritage and rich identity. Germany consider cultural heritage as important as any other World Heritage Site across the world. But this idea must be deplorable to Ben Houchen, who doesn’t like silly nobodies like me disagreeing with his plan to flatten our identity. “If people want to stand in the way of jobs and investment then they should leave Teesside because I’m not going to be apologetic for wanting to deliver a bright future for local people.” Inspiring, Ben. Don’t forget to photograph the moment you press the red button on the Blast. Historic England considered the Dorman Long Tower as ‘a recognised and celebrated example of Brutalist Architecture’ and a ‘rare surviving structure from the C20 coal, iron and steel industries’, and yet she not longer stands, even after an emergency application to Historic England which was overturned by the Secretary of State and was bolstered by lies by Ben Houchen, who tried to gaslight that it was an issue with Historic England. Dorman Long Tower lies in rubble and the Blast Furnace is next and there is nothing we can do to stop it. All that will be left is the Brutalist Steel House, which didn’t see a mucky boot touch its carpeted floors and the walls aren’t tarnished by the hellish heat from making steel. Steel House is not a memorial to those who walked into the Blast Furnace with only overalls, boots and a hard hat to protect them from the heat, dirt and repugnant odours. Steel House is not a memorial for over 100 years of world class steel making, which can be found proudly around the world. If you want to see Dorman Long stamped on a steel girder, if you’re as privileged as Ben Houchen you can buy your ticket to Australia and see if stamped on the side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge - not at the place it was sculpted because the Dorman Long sign went down with the tower. Redcar already changed in 2013 where it gained a vertical pier, brand new promenade and business hub paid for by the EU. The vertical pier is neat, not too high to look over the flat town, with colourful lights and business space inside. It has a successful radio station and a cocktail bar; the vertical pier gave folks jobs and half decent pizza. It’s become a favoured nighttime shot for local photographers. Yet, a lot of people hate it and have been calling for a traditional pier - an utterly ridiculous ideal in response to an aesthetic they just cannot accept. The vertical pier is a modern take on a pier, it is easier to maintain and there is little chance of the sea destroying it. This is development and moving forward, is it not? We are about to unfold on the demolition of our steel past for promises and flattened land; is Redcar ready for that? The Blast Furnace is a cultural monument to our steel making past. What will serve as an identifying backdrop of Redcar? The pier? Redcar and Cleveland is being stripped of what is left of its identity, and it is struggling to accept what it has gained and is due to gain. The vertical pier is despised, regardless of the businesses and jobs it provides and the 25 million town regeneration plan has already been met with arguments about creating a ‘wind tunnel’ on the high street and ignoring the ongoing issue with high rent and rates. The locals would rather M&S come back to the very same building they occupied and things go back to how they were. Some seem more concerned with an abandoned shop building on the high street coming down than a major symbol of their industrial heritage, which has stood as a monument to the towns success for decades. I do not oppose jobs or development, but I do oppose the demolition of Redcar’s identity and cultural legacy. Redcar’s aesthetic is being blown to pieces; an aesthetic which separates it from all other seaside towns. There has been little public consultation on the demolishing of our history and it is a ‘like it or lump it’ situation. The landscape will be flattened, maybe the air will be cleaner - but greener? Our wildlife has adapted to the chemical changes brought on by the steelworks and so the ecosystem may change at South Gare and the ongoing 'mystery' surrounding the mass sea-life deaths goes on with no straight answer regarding the cause. We have been stripped of our cultural legacy and our ecosystems are being dug up, but at least we have jobs to look forward to.
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