PROBLEMS caused by acres of derelict land left over from its industrial past are one of the reasons Ellesmere Port has one of the lowest quality of life ratings in the country.
This is one of the key findings of a new report on the economy of the sub-region by Cheshire & Warrington Economic Alliance.
Entitled Building on Success, it includes statistics on current economic conditions and future trends and prospects and is of interest to organisations interested in investing or doing business in Cheshire and Warrington.
The report will also be used by local, regional and national government to shape future plans.
Profiling Ellesmere Port & Neston, the report says 95% of its previously-developed land remains vacant or derelict.
Part of it reads: 'The combination of chemical sector activity and derelict sites may explain why Ellesmere Port & Neston is judged to have the worst quality of life in the sub-region and ranks among England & Wales' bottom 25%.
'A challenge is to treat and open up former sites, putting them, where possible, to a more environ-mentally sustainable use.'
But the report adds: 'There has been some encouraging progress, with 97% of the district's 2003-4 housing completions making use of previously derelict land.'
It points out that the upside to having a large chemical sector - and a high percentage of the workforce employed in it at 30% - is that they are often very well paid.
Partly as a result, the district's full-time employees' average weekly earnings -£468 in 2005 - are higher than in other parts of Cheshire & Warrington.
The report points out that because the area is dependent on a small number of large firms, like Shell and Vauxhall, there is a 'significant risk of large-scale future job losses'.
Reliance on big companies also means a lack of small firms starting up.
Due to the area's low proportion of degree-level workers, the report adds: 'Tackling the problems of low skills, worklessness and deprivation is therefore another key task facing the district.'
