Hitachi Factory Underway

Two Government Ministers Mark the Occasion
Construction of the Aycliffe Hitachi Railway Factory started officially with a meeting of the great and good last Friday at the site on Millennium Way.
Government Business Secretary Vince Cable and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin along with our MP Phil Wilson were present to mark this historic moment when railway rolling stock production came back to its birthplace in County Durham.
Mr Cable said: “The factory will be a great boost to the North East economy, creating over 700 jobs and bringing a long tradition of rail manufacturing back to the region.”
Our Mayor and Consort Barbara and John Clare attended and said this was a red letter day for Great Aycliffe and a moment of great singnificance for the future expansion of our town.
The County Council was well represented by its Cabinet members and Leader Simon Henig who were ecstatic that the project was now on the move.
Shepherds have won the contract and will be using 90% local labour to build the iconic factory. There is everything any builder would want at Aycliffe and this will be good news for the local economy.
All the speakers were upbeat on how the Hitachi project would bring new business to the area and benefit the UK as a whole.
There was no doubt from the amount of media coverage that this is putting Aycliffe on the map and while the factory is being built so too will excitement build.