Battle to save British Steel jobs at Scunthorpe: "If we lose this turn out the lights"

"It’s the life and soul of our town centre – if we lose this, turn out the lights.”
Workers leave the steelworks plant in Scunthorpe as owner British Steel goes into liquidationWorkers leave the steelworks plant in Scunthorpe as owner British Steel goes into liquidation
Workers leave the steelworks plant in Scunthorpe as owner British Steel goes into liquidation

For businessman Des Comerford, the hammer blow of the collapse into administration of British Steel at Scunthorpe was the moment people have talked about for many years, but he hoped would never become reality.

Speaking hours after the news, the chairman of Keep Scunthorpe Alive was still reeling but clutching on to hope that a buyer can be found: “You see the smoke coming out of the chimney at the plant – and you think that while it does, we still have a future.”

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Mr Comerford, who owns two shops – suiting business Fallen Hero and men’s fashion store Dee Jays – set up Keep Scunthorpe Alive nearly a decade ago to oppose an out-of-town planning application for M&S, Debenhams and Boots, 1.7 miles from the town centre. It went through and in just eight months footfall slumped by nearly half a million.

Thousands of steelworkers face an uncertain future after British Steel plunged into liquidationThousands of steelworkers face an uncertain future after British Steel plunged into liquidation
Thousands of steelworkers face an uncertain future after British Steel plunged into liquidation

The potential loss of 4,000 British Steel jobs and a further 20,000 in the supply chain could be far worse, akin to the pit closures that devastated mining villages throughout Yorkshire.

Scunthope was, after all, built on iron and steel in the 19th century – its football team is nicknamed the Iron – and its huge 2,200-acre site still dominates the town.

“You can’t quantify the knock-on effect and devastation it will have not just to the town centre, but across the whole of north Lincolnshire,” Mr Comerford said. “Should the plant cease to trade then I don’t think it will ever recover.

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“I think it will be like we have seen in mining communities destroyed and struggling to recover. We have the people at the plant and all the ancillary businesses.

The company is continuing to trade while options are exploredThe company is continuing to trade while options are explored
The company is continuing to trade while options are explored

"People travel from Grimsby, Hull and Doncaster, to work there. It is not just people from Scunthorpe who work in the steel industry. It is a much bigger picture.”

His hope is that with Greybull Capital – British Steel’s owner of only three years – out of the picture, there may be a chance that a buyer can be found.

Speaking outside the threatened plant, former steelworker Charlotte Childs, now a regional official for the GMB union, said the news was “absolutely devastating”.

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She said: “I don’t think it can be understated, the impact that this is going to have on the town and community if we don’t find a solution to this imminently.”

Ms Childs said that the failure to secure the plant’s future would mean “mass uncertainty” for its workers, adding: “It means not knowing whether you’re going to be paying your mortgage at the end of the month.”

She fears the steelworks’ closure would see unemployment, now standing at 4.8 per cent in North Lincolnshire rocket to 8.4 per cent, double the national average.

Alasdair McDiarmid, from the Community union, sounded a more positive note, saying he was confident “we can find a buyer that sees the value in this business”.

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And council leader Rob Waltham said people should “talk the opportunities up”.

He said: “The gates are still open, people are still working here and it’s important that we send out a message to customers of British Steel that they are important to keeping this site open.”