Beyond Steel

The closure of Ravenscraig had a lasting impact on the communities around it, and for Clare Adamson it was also the moment that pushed her towards politics. Growing up locally, she remembers how difficult it was to watch the end of the steelworks that had shaped the area for generations. She described it as “absolutely horrendous to be watching the closure of Ravenscraig and its subsequent demolition.” The scale of the loss and the lack of replacement industry angered many people at the time. Adamson later said that the experience “brought me to politics apart from anything else,” as she became involved in public life during a period when communities were trying to respond to deindustrialisation.

The closure had serious consequences for the local population. Ravenscraig had once provided stable employment and a sense of identity for many families. When the steelworks shut, that stability disappeared almost overnight. Adamson recalled that the area “became one of the highest male unemployment rates in the whole of Europe, and it took in some ways generations for people to recover from that.” The loss of work also meant the loss of a shared future, as many people had expected to follow relatives into the same industry. As she put it, “you lost that sense of belonging. You lost that sense of place.” Without new opportunities, many families struggled with poverty and uncertainty in the years that followed.

Even with those difficulties, the history of steelmaking at Ravenscraig remains a source of pride. The steel produced there was known for its quality, and Adamson often points out that “BMW cars would only use the steel from Ravenscraig… it was the best of the best.” That pride still shapes how people think about the site today. While the steel industry itself is gone, the memory of what the place once represented is still important to the community.

At the same time, people recognise that the area must now look to different types of jobs and industries for the future.

Redeveloping the site has taken far longer than many people expected. Part of the reason is the complicated ownership of the land, which involves the council, development companies and the former industrial owners. These different groups often have different priorities, particularly when it comes to balancing community needs with commercial interests. Clearing the site itself also took years, leaving large areas of land unused. Adamson has spoken about the frustration people felt during that time, suggesting that even temporary projects such as solar panels could have been used because “the ground’s just sitting there.”

Thirty years on, however, some progress is finally visible. New housing has been built and facilities such as the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility and the local college campus have brought more activity to the area. There are also hopes that new industries, possibly including high-tech and data centres, could eventually move onto the site. However, many residents remain cautious about what the redevelopment will mean for them. For Adamson and many people in the community, the key issue is that any development should create real opportunities locally. As she argues, the most important outcome is “jobs and security in the area,” and ensuring that the benefits of Ravenscraig’s future are felt by the people who live there.