good evening from grumpy towers with head ranter and moaner grumpy reporting.
i was going to hold this over untill tommorow night but lady grumpys watching casualty so why not snuggle up with grumpy on a saturday night.
the daily mirror ( not that rag again grumps ) ED .. sent a reporter from the safety of their fleet street rathole all the way to south wales to interview the locals on the effect the closure of the tata plant would have on port talbot
after interviewing a few locals they managed to cobble together some kind of story to keep the tata steel story alive and sell a few more papers.
A number of local business owners, ranging from estate agents to butchers, have vented their fury at a lack of Government action, jeopardising their livelihoods.
a thick seam of steel underpins everything in Port Talbot. and if the Government does not come up with a rescue plan, the closure of the works will affect every one of the 35,000 people living there.
The mile-long Abbey Works have dominated the skyline for more than a century and the blast furnace chimneys loom large over everyone’s lives.
Steel led to the creation of the Sandfields Estate, built to house thousands of workers. And today it still provides 4,000 jobs at the Tata plant as well as most of the business for tens of thousands of contracted workers.
Now that the shipyards, pits and the refinery have gone, steel is the only industry left in town. And it’s one that makes people here intensely proud.
But it is no exaggeration to say that this time next year, Port Talbot could be a ghost town, as local business owners we spoke to know all too well...
The contractor supplier
Talbot Hydraulics supplies contractors who work for Tata, accounting for about 60% of its turnover.
Based on an industrial estate in the shadow of the works, it is one of many companies indirectly connected to the continued existence of steel in Port Talbot Father-of-two Jonathan Ball, 62, started the company in 1980 and is now fearful for the six men he employs.
Although he is reaching retirement, he is worried that all of them might struggle if he has to shut his company down.
Faced with this bleak prospect, he is already re-assessing his overheads and looking further afield for alternative business opportunities.
He says: “I don’t know why we haven’t introduced an embargo on foreign steel imports like they have in America.
“I cannot see how an industrialised nation can be in a situation where it doesn’t have its own steel industry. The company has a solid spread of business but nothing like enough.
“I am just so glad we are not one of Tata’s direct suppliers. Some of those firms are running at a loss. The problem is that steel from China is less than half the price of steel we produce here.
“People buying steel can’t afford not to buy the Chinese steel.
The florist
Andrea Biggs has only recently opened her florist’s and wedding dress hire shop on Port Talbot’s high street.
The 40-year-old mum-of-four is worried she might be forced to close Andrea’s Fancy Flowers far more quickly than she could ever have
anticipated.
She explains: “A lot of the people come in here to hire wedding dresses because they cannot afford to buy them We are talking about budget weddings. If they lose their jobs they won’t even be able to afford that.
I just hope my business can continue. I’ve got a determination to do it. So much here relies directly or indirectly on steel.
Phil Landeg owns the shop premises, which have been in his family since 1936.
The 63-year-old says: “The demise will kill the local economy. I had the opportunity to sell the shop but I wanted to keep it going. It’s a family business which has always supported our family I have seen Port Talbot change because there is less and less employment. It’s a very worrying time.
The Docks Cafe
Mum-of-four Sharon Evans, 54, runs the The Docks Cafe with daughter Sheridan, 29. Her niece works in the kitchen.
She fears closure of the works will make it impossible for her to remain open.
Sharon Evans who owns and runs the 'Docks Cafe' says over half her business comes from steel workers About 60% of my business comes from the workers, Sharon explains. “We are already £200-a-day down on what we took in at the start of the year.
When they made the redundancies in January they closed the gate nearest to us and the workers do not have time in their half-hour break to come all the way around to the other gate.
We are always flat-out on a Friday and Saturday because that is when the steel workers are allowed out.
We know all of them – we know exactly what they want before they even come in If the plant closes, we will close. We also have all the contractors and drivers too. There is no way we can rely on other businesses.
If the plant closes it will lead marriages breaking up, people losing their houses, depression and children not being able to go to university because their parents cannot afford the fees.
Ferrari’s Cafe
Part of the fabric of daily life in Port Talbot, Ferrari’s has been going for 80 years However owner Tracey Lewis, 50, is certain she will have to close if the works go.
Tracey Lewis says she'd suffer a double whammy if the plant closed
She says: “I would say about 40% of my custom comes from the plant. That is about £65,000. Much of that is in takeaway services which they pick up on their way in to work I don’t think I could survive without the place. We are already struggling. This has been looming for 12 months and the Government has done nothing about it. They have chosen to ignore this issue My husband works there, so for me it will be a double whammy.
He was devastated when he heard. He thought Tata would accept the plan. In a way it’s a wake-up call. We have been so reliant on the works, we thought it would be here for ever I will not have a business to sell either because no one would want to buy it. Selling this place is supposed to be my pension We are all very proud people but if it happens we will have to ask for money to get by. Something we have never done.
The estate agent
Many in town rent their homes and this provides Tony John estate agents with the bulk of its business.
Plant closure could have a severe effect, says Sarah Floyd, 32.
Currently Tony John manages 350 properties in Port Talbot but that could swiftly be reduced if there is not enough demand.
Sarah says: “I am very concerned. A lot of our tenants are worried about not being able to pay their rent.
They will probably need to start claiming housing benefit and that, in turn, will put more pressure on the local authority that pays out the housing benefit I have my family roots in Port Talbot and I have to say that talking to people in the town many of them are already very depressed.
I think a lot of them could start leaving the area and obviously that could have a major impact on the number of people we have coming in here.
Taibach Rugby Club
On its walls are photographs of ex-players who have gone on to be selected for the national team Next to the bar is a long trophy cabinet built by two former steel workers.
Taibach Rugby Club bar, a Port Talbot institution, is heavily dependant on pay packets from the works. And if the plant closes it will have a devastating impact on the people who come here.
Sitting by the bar are John Newman, Martin Thomas and Steve Williams. All have been involved with the steel industry.
Steve says: “Everyone here has worked with steel in some way. There is no getting away from the fact that a place like this depends a lot on the wages from the works.
“The Government could have stepped in a lot earlier to prevent this. We are not critical of Tata. They have been very fair.
John adds: “I think closure of the plant will be devastating for the whole town. It’s an absolute scandal that they are using foreign steel for tanks being built just up the road from here.
The butcher
Peter Eaton has run his shop in a small arcade off the high street for 30 years.
He has never worked in steel himself but he feels the pain of the workers acutely as he relies on them to stay open.
The 61-year-old says: “50% of my customers are people who work in steel. If they don’t do anything to save the works then give us six months and we’ll all be closed.
This is going to be the end of every single independent shop here. They won’t bother coming to me Meat is a luxury and they will decide they can’t afford it Everyone is already scared to spend. My turnover is down on what it was just a few years ago.
I think the Government has to take over the plant and make it British Steel again. There’s no other solution as far as I can see. I’m disgusted by the Government Within a 10-mile radius everyone is talking about just one thing and we all feel the same.
The hairdressers
Janet Morgan has worked at family-run Morgan’s Hairdressers for 50 years.
The 70-year-old says: “90% of my customers have got a connection to the steel company. There have always been threats to the place but this seems a lot worse than what has happened before.
Hairdresser Jayne Gregory is also concerned for the future of the plant
It is bound to hit us in terms of trade and a lot of my staff depend on it too. Two of the girls have partners who are working there.
If people have to save costs, then getting their hair done will be a luxury and they won’t come hereAnyone who owns a business in Port Talbot is going to be affected. I would imagine people would be trying to save as much as they can My parents owned this business before me and I hope my son will be able to carry it on. Two of Janet’s hairdressers, Jayne Gregory, 45, and Aimy Edwards, 27, say they too are worried about closure of the plant For now Morgan’s is busy with a queue at the front of the salon. But no one knows how long that will last.
Meet the local traders whose lives will be torn apart by Port Talbot steel closure - Mirror Online
AAG
so there you have it the ( steel ) nuts and bolts of port talbots future if the steelworks is no more.
not that port talbot is anything special you just need to look over the valleys to places like pontypridd and other villages in the valleys that have been devastated by the tories when they closed the mines.
or further north to former yorkshire pit villages like goldthorpe, bentley , rossington,maltby,grimethorpe to name but a few and most recently thoresby and kellingley collieries.
where next is the axe to fall jobs gone on teeside at middlesborough and redcar & nearer to home both rotherham and sheffield have taken hits with sheffield forgemasters cutting jobs and up in scotland at ravenscar.
of course the south gets all the support it needs with endless money to spend or as harry enfield use to say LOADSAMONEY especially in the london area for numerous projects and the politicians claim there is no north/south divide yet the north suffers with a crumbling acaic system while london gets its new clean ultra modern facilities.
it seems that toryland stops at watford but the effects are felt countrywide and will continue to do so untill at least 2020.
port talbot to become a ghost town if tata closes the steelworks the AA grumpy column
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the grumps
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port talbot to become a ghost town if tata closes the steelworks the AA grumpy column
They still have the problem of who is going to buy the steel. It's all part of a cunning plan to turn the north and wales in to heritage sites where poeople from the south of england can go on holiday.
port talbot to become a ghost town if tata closes the steelworks the AA grumpy column
slightly different take on the subject
George Kerevan: Why George Osborne is putting Chinese interests first and letting British steel die | Comment | The National
A responsible UK Government would nationalise the steel industry as an emergency measure and protect the economy from dumped imports. It would introduce supply-side measures to boost industrial production and productivity. It would boost investment in research and development. To pay for all that, it would remove the tax privileges enjoyed by the City of London. Which is why it won’t happen, of course.
Welcome to thatcher's brave new world.
Good grief even the daily mail
George Kerevan: Why George Osborne is putting Chinese interests first and letting British steel die | Comment | The National
A responsible UK Government would nationalise the steel industry as an emergency measure and protect the economy from dumped imports. It would introduce supply-side measures to boost industrial production and productivity. It would boost investment in research and development. To pay for all that, it would remove the tax privileges enjoyed by the City of London. Which is why it won’t happen, of course.
Welcome to thatcher's brave new world.
Good grief even the daily mail
port talbot to become a ghost town if tata closes the steelworks the AA grumpy column
gmc;1494341 wrote: slightly different take on the subject
George Kerevan: Why George Osborne is putting Chinese interests first and letting British steel die | Comment | The National
Welcome to thatcher's brave new world.
Good grief even the daily mail
I agree with the quote except the last bit. There are many ways the government *could* pay for it, why chose that one apart from it being a pet hate and an easy lead in to the last sentence.
George Kerevan: Why George Osborne is putting Chinese interests first and letting British steel die | Comment | The National
Welcome to thatcher's brave new world.
Good grief even the daily mail
I agree with the quote except the last bit. There are many ways the government *could* pay for it, why chose that one apart from it being a pet hate and an easy lead in to the last sentence.
port talbot to become a ghost town if tata closes the steelworks the AA grumpy column
Bryn Mawr;1494342 wrote: I agree with the quote except the last bit. There are many ways the government *could* pay for it, why chose that one apart from it being a pet hate and an easy lead in to the last sentence.
It's not a tory newspaper what did you expect? Financial services without any industry to service is niot sustainable. sadly evrybody seems to have bought in to the myth of a service economy. What is also lacking IMO is anyone asking what is best for the people of this nation and no I donblt think ukip and the like have the inetests of ordinary people at heart.
It's not a tory newspaper what did you expect? Financial services without any industry to service is niot sustainable. sadly evrybody seems to have bought in to the myth of a service economy. What is also lacking IMO is anyone asking what is best for the people of this nation and no I donblt think ukip and the like have the inetests of ordinary people at heart.