Hope Works delivering local economic benefits

Breedon cement works records sharp rise in contribution to local economy in Peak District National Park

AN independent report on the economic impact of the UK’s largest cement works has shown that it contributes £53 million to its local economy.

The economic impact assessment report was commissioned from global management, engineering and development consultancy Mott Macdonald by Breedon for their cement works at Hope in the heart of the Peak District National Park (PDNP).

Its aim was to establish how much the works contributes both financially and in terms of employment to the Park’s economy.

This latest report (using 2017 data) shows the works employed more than 260 people, (202 directly, 44 indirectly and 16 as induced jobs), contributing £53 million to the local economy and accounting for 6.8% of the Park’s total economic output and 1.7% of its total employment.

This represents an increase of more than 10% over 2013, the year for which Mott Macdonald produced their last report, when the Hope works contributed around £45 million, with roughly the same number of direct employees.

In a region with a long-established mineral and aggregates industry, Hope cement works accounts for around 15% of UK cement production, which is currently running at almost 10 million tonnes per annum.

But the economic benefits of the 763-acre site extend well beyond its direct footprint. Nearly half its direct employees live within the PDNP itself, supporting the area by spending their wages locally (some £500,000 of induced gross value added (GVA) compared with £51.1 million of direct GVA and £1.4 million of indirect GVA).

In addition, around £3.7 million of supplier expenditure by the site is with firms based in the PDNP, notably local industry contractors and manufacturing companies supplying specialist products and services in the areas of welding, scaffolding, engineering, joinery, mechanics, haulage, fabrication, photography and catering.

These indirect purchases of goods and services along the supply chain, coupled with the spending on direct and indirect employee wages, create a ripple effect and support further rounds of economic activity. In 2017, the Hope cement works supported nearly 60 additional jobs from those direct and indirect impacts, contributing another £2 million to the local economy.

This means that for every 10 jobs created in the PDNP, almost three additional jobs are created from the multiplier impact of the Breedon site.

Hope’s state-of-the-art cement works has manufactured cement for almost 90 years and has a long tradition of actively engaging with the local community through its many social and communal activities.

These include access for local residents to the Hope works estate and the Earles Sports and Social Club as well as on-site open days and tours and a range of local business and community partnerships.

Taking into account other contributions, including volunteer time and charitable donations and sponsorships, the Hope site invested the equivalent of well in excess of £150,000 in the community in 2017, supporting two additional jobs within the PDNP and contributing a further £60,000 to the local economy.

Ed Cavanagh, works manager at the Hope site, said: ‘It is gratifying to see the healthy increase in our contribution to the local economy over the past few years. We’re very proud of the part we play in the lives and employment of people in the Peak District National Park.’

Hope has the capacity to produce around 1.5 million tonnes of Breedon Portland, Breedon Portland Plus and Breedon Rapid cement every year, which equates to more than 90 six-storey office buildings or 28 community hospitals, 125,000 houses or 100 schools.

More than half the cement made at Hope is transported in bulk by rail to depots in the South East (Dagenham and Reading), West Midlands (Walsall) and North of England (Dewsbury), ensuring the product is delivered as sustainably as possible.