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.

The ProppaJobs campaign is a nonprofit organization that acts as a middleman between various government departments to secure industry for Britain's forgotten North East. This industry involves miniature power stations converted from old mineshafts in the local pit villages. These stations offer clean energy that can be sold to the national grid and provide the local area with much-needed jobs. Who are we? The Proppa Jobs Campaign (PJC) is a new Community Interest Company based on the East Durham coast of the UK, founded with the goal of re-industrialising former abandoned British Coal sites and regenerating these areas. Rooted in the community, PJC brings together private industry, local government, and academia to bring jobs, opportunities and hope back into this area. An early area we’re exploring is to harness cutting-edge innovations in energy storage. By transforming disused pit shafts into underground batteries, we aim to create a foundation of affordable, renewable energy — helping to paveing the way for the return of manufacturing and skilled jobs to the region. The villages of Blackhall, Horden, and Easington — once proud centres of the coal mining industry — are now among the poorest postcodes in Western Europe. By combining technology, expertise, and collaboration across the region and nationally, PJC and the communities that support it are working to reverse this trend and help restore long-term prosperity to the East Durham coast.

Our History Our story starts in Local Pit villages of the north-east during the industrial revolution. Horden, Easington, and Blackhall were all proud Pit Villages. A phrase which here means a village built on the coal mining industry. At the time, coal mining was the major revenue stream for the North-East. The economic growth brought about through the coal trading businesses was what propped up a lot of these communities. Pathing the way for new modern housing, education, and innovation for the local areas. Combined with the welfare system at the time, people in these villages were thriving. The system at the time meant that London was the technology powerhouse of UK. Creating most of the technology for the whole country. While the North of England was seen as the powerhouse provider of the coal needed to power the machines down in London. That was until 1985 when all of the coal mines in the UK were closed. Due to long-lasting peace in Europe following WW2, many countries were able to expand their own industries and not only catch up with Britain but overtake us entirely in things like the clothing manufacturing industries, ship making, and other industries that the UK had once been world-leading. This prompted Margret Thatcher to turn the UK into a skills and service provider, instead of a mainly manufacturing trading country. This single decision is what made nearly all of these communities fall to their knees, as the main source of income for these areas was gone. Because of this, many people abandoned these areas in pursuit of finding employment elsewhere. As due to the mines closing, there was no longer a need for the secondary jobs surrounding the selling and distribution of coal. The same government also revoked the majority of the welfare system at the time, putting a further strain on the community. Leading to a spike in anti-social behavior and overall neglect of the area by the local councils. As there was simply no money left in the area. Cut to the modern day, where these mineshafts have been sat dormant for 39 years and counting. The land surrounding them was abandoned, and over time, became filled with dead grass and thorns. Until 2023, when some people in our local community came together to form the Prappa Jobs Campaign. An organization dedicated to giving the land a new use by converting the old Mineshafts into miniature gravity power stations. With each site able to produce up to 150 jobs each for the local communities and allow the local area to sell the energy produced to the main power grid to put more money into the local areas and drive investment up.

About Proppa We are a Community Interest Company (CIC) founded with a simple goal: to help bring lasting, meaningful regeneration to the East Durham coast. 01 The Foundation The journey began some seven years ago with Pip Fallow, author of Dragged Up Proppa — a powerful memoir that captured the spirit, struggles, and strength of life in former mining communities. Pip’s story sparked a conversation, and that conversation grew into a shared vision: one where people here could take the lead in shaping their own future. 02 Where We Are Today Today, we are made up of people from all walks of life — local residents, professionals, creatives, engineers, educators, and more — united by a common belief that this place deserves better. We are rooted in the community, and we’re working for the community. 03 What Is Our Organization? We’re not profit-seeking. We exist solely to serve. Every bit of energy we spend, every conversation we have, every project we pursue is aimed at a single outcome: creating opportunities and thus helping East Durham thrive again. This isn’t charity. It’s about creating opportunities — proppa jobs, for investment, for a better quality of life — and doing it in a way that’s led by, and for, the people who call this place home. 04 Our Beliefs We believe the problems in these de-industrialised areas are temporary and can be reversed. We believe we have the solution. We believe in the potential of this coast. We believe in its people. And we’re here to help unlock what we believe is possible and irradicate the malevolence being suffered today.

Meet The Team Founder : Pip Fallow Founder : Ryan

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