The need is urgent.

The time is now.

The East Durham coast is at a crossroads — a place of breathtaking natural beauty and immense human potential, held back by decades of neglect.

Once powered by the strength and solidarity of mining communities, we now stand in the shadow of their absence. When the pits closed, nothing filled the void. The free market shrugged. Promises of regeneration were whispered, then forgotten.

And the cost?

It’s written across every statistic and lived in every home:

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy in these communities for men is over six years less, and for women, over five and a half years less than the national average. ONS 2023.

Retirement

Healthy life expectancy (the age people stop working) is for both men and women twelve years less than the national average in these de-industrialised zones. ONS 2023.

Child Poverty

Forty-three percent of children in these communities will grow up in poverty, with fewer educational opportunities and poorer health. ONS 2023.

Lack Of Jobs

Quality jobs are scarce. The few jobs that do exist are too often insecure, underpaid, and lack dignity.

The East Durham Coast is the only place in the UK where life expectancy for women had dropped in the last decade. ONS 2019.

These areas host the lowest percentage of car ownership and home ownership in the UK. ONS 2023.

Public services — police, healthcare, housing — are stretched to breaking point. Over sixty percent of County Durhams police budget is spent in this one small area that suffers over double the reported crime rate than the rest of the UK.

The trust in politics and authority has collapsed. People feel abandoned. Disconnected. Without a stake in the future or hope.

But we refuse to accept this as our destiny.

We believe in the strength, creativity, and resilience of the people of East Durham. This is a community of grafters and makers, of artists and engineers. We don't lack talent — but too often, that talent is forced to leave. Young people with dreams and ambition pack their bags and head south. This can no longer be accepted.

They deserve better. We all do.

Our Assets

Luckly, we find ourselves surrounded by world-class institutions — Durham University, Durham Research and development, Sunderland University, Teesside University, Hartlepool FE— bursting with knowledge, research, and ideas. We have an awe-inspiring coastline with the potential to be both a sanctuary and a powerhouse. We have inherited from our fore-bearers and the industrial revolution an industrial footprint, accessible by rail and road that would be the envy of any region. We have the strong foundation of our industrial heritage to support the next generation of new industries.

And most critically, we have a unique advantage the rest of the country has forgotten: Our Mines.

These underground networks, once filled with coal, could now help power the future. In a country with sky-high electricity prices and a grid that buckles under its own limitations, East Durham could become a hub for cheap, reliable energy storage. Right now, we’re turning off wind turbines because the grid can’t handle the load. We literally pay to waste power.

That must change.

We are developing a bold, practical solution: to use our historic mine workings to store renewable energy — and to deliver that energy directly to new industry. Industries like AI data centres, green manufacturing, and next-generation materials — industries that need cheap, clean, dependable power.

This isn’t just about energy. It’s not just about jobs. It’s about creating opportunities for the next generation and creating occupations. Good, long-term occupations that enable individuals to create and steer a steady future filled with hope. And with this, the return of pride, purpose, fulfilment and community cohesion.

We are currently seeking funding for feasibility studies that will unlock this potential. We don’t need handouts — we need investment, belief, and the courage to build something lasting.

East Durham is not a problem to be solved. A burden. It is a place of solutions waiting to be unlocked so it can pay its way once again.

Bringing industry back to the North East

Our Assets