Plans to bring up to 207 highly skilled jobs to a Northumberland coastal town have been hailed by councillors after being given the green light by planners.
Councillors on Northumberland County Council's Strategic Planning Committee approved a planning application for an offshore windfarm cable factory at Cambois in a meeting on Tuesday.
It follows on from the approval of plans to build the Britishvolt gigafactory to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, which will bring thousands more jobs to an area that has suffered from a lack of investment for decades.
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JDR Cables, which makes high-voltage cables to connect to offshore wind farms, also has a site further down the North East coast in Hartlepool. I t announced plans to build the factory in September last year, with the factory to be located north of the former Blyth Power Station.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting, Coun Alex Wallace, who represents the area, said: "It is schemes like this that will benefit the whole of Northumberland. Cambois is becoming a jewel in the crown industrial wise.
"There aren't enough people in Cambois for all the jobs - it will be the youngsters of tomorrow that will be coming through the doors. I want to say to the residents of Cambois - you will get your opportunity for employment, but this goes beyond Cambois.
"It goes across the length and breadth of the county and even to Tyneside."
Under the conditions set out in the application, JDR Cables will seek to provide local residents with job opportunities for at least the next ten years, with opportunities such as apprenticeships and graduate schemes offered under a section 106 agreement. The company will also build relationships with local colleges and the region's universities.
The meeting's chairman, Coun Trevor Thorne, added: "This is a really good news story. We're bringing jobs and industry back to the south east corner.
"It is the only way you restore prosperity back to an area. You bring the jobs, you invest, you bring wealth, spending power and hopefully we will see the prosperity of that south east corner come up again.
"I think the section 106 agreement on jobs is marvellous news because it is not all about jobs and training, it's about getting local people into work and I find that very encouraging. I would like to give this application my full support."
The committee unanimously approved the proposals.
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