The integrated site that Imperial Chemical Industries created over decades at Wilton on Teesside, where hundreds of jobs are now under threat, was far more than just a plant. It was British industrial paternalism on its grandest scale.

At its peak, ICI employed 30,000 at Billingham and Wilton. ICI built homes for its workers, ran share ownership schemes and sponsored concerts. Its rates bill largely funded the local authorities and staff were given time off to sit as councillors or run for parliament.