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A HISTORIC Leeds manufacturing firm devastated by floods last year is to close with the loss of 93 skilled jobs, writes Peter Lazenby.
General union Unite said yesterday that if the Tories had not axed a flood defence scheme for Leeds, the 1892 ThyssenKrupp Woodhead factory could have been saved.
Following floods in 2007 a £180 million flood alleviation scheme was planned for Leeds, but in 2011 the Con-Dem coalition axed the scheme, replacing it with a £45m version.
On December 26 last year Leeds and the Aire Valley suffered their worst floods in living memory, devastating homes and businesses including the ThyssenKrupp factory.
“This is a classic case of government cutbacks sabotaging another government policy — that of the so-called ‘northern powerhouse’,” said Unite officer Richard Bedford.
“Already other businesses have closed in the same area and if the government had not reduced the funding for the flood defences in 2011 this wouldn’t have happened.”
