The North-East Wales constituency of Alyn & Deeside is situated just over the border from Chester and has strong connections to the North-West, particularly Merseyside. Like much of North East Wales, Alyn & Deeside is heavily dependent on manufacturing for employment.
Since 1980, and the massive redundancies that took place at Shotton Steelworks, the community and policy makers of North East Wales have been striving for a strong and stable economy and massive strides in Industrial Development and expansion have been made.
A major component in the reconstruction has been the creation of Deeside Industrial Park, which Mark’s predecessor Lord Barry Jones played an instrumental role. The industrial park is the biggest of its kind in Europe and is a pivotal part in Deeside’s function as a motor for the entire economy of North Wales, Cheshire, the Wirral and Merseyside.
The Broughton Airbus plant employs about 4,000 people and is the site where Airbus wings are manufactured, including those for the forthcoming A380 superjumbo.
BAE Systems in Broughton is a key factor in the continued development of North Wales. The introduction of the A380 - the so called super jumbo that will be the world’s largest passenger aircraft - will cement Airbus’s position as a world leader in its market.
Europe’s largest construction project, the vast factory being built to accommodate the world’s biggest aeroplane wings.
The new hangar in which the wings for the A380 will be built is currently under construction. It is the largest commercial building project in the UK, and Airbus is spending more that £1 million a week on it. The completed building, which will be open in May 2003, will contain more than 14,000 tonnes of steel all produced and supplied by Corus.
Deeside College serves the entire community of North East Wales and Cheshire. It is currently assisting in the training of 100 Airbus apprentices.
However, the constituency is not just renowned for its manufacturing nature. There is a rich cultural vein throughout North Wales and since the early eighties vast amounts of money have been invested into sporting excellence in Alyn & Deeside.
Broughton Shopping Park is the biggest retail park in North Wales. In its first week it attracted more than three million shoppers.
Deeside now boasts an ice rink of Olympic standards and has a record of producing prospective Olympic stars, most recently in the form of Marika Humphreys and her husband Vitaliy Baranov who came 15th in the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Deeside College also has a first-class athletics arena and is home to the Connah’s Quay Nomads Football Club. Connah’s Quay Nomads, has in the past few years moved to a new ground and expanded to include youth teams across the age spectrum. Under the guidance of manager Nev Powell, the Nomads got off to a fantastic start last season in the League of Wales. The constituency can boast of world famous home grown stars, most notably Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen and Newcastle and Wales mid-fielder Gary Speed. Both Premier League players cut their teeth playing for Deeside Primary Schools.
Deeside Athletics Association continues to produce high-class athletes, training and competing at the outdoors Deeside Stadium. The area looks set to go on nurturing future athletic and field stars as approval has been granted to give the go ahead for a new indoor stadium.
The village of Hawarden is where former Liberal Prime Minister Gladstone retired to. Pictured is the entrance to Hawarden Castle, where he lived.
"North East Wales has much to offer and a good story to tell, but companies will continue to invest in Wales only if we make them aware of the opportunities and benefits there. Importantly, politicians have a major job to do in that respect. We have to paint a positive picture of Wales. We must not denigrate it or portray it as a place to Victorian-era misery and depression, It is not like that, and we have a positive story to tell."
