by business editor Trevor Sturgess

There is life after the closure of a big local employer, but it can take years to recover.

That's the message from a newspaper editor who witnessed at first hand the impact of the closure of Chatham Royal Naval Dockyard in 1984.

Speaking after Pfizer announced it was shutting its Sandwich plant with the loss of 2,400 jobs, David Jones recalled that the dockyard decision caused similar shockwaves.

In 1982, when the Government announced the controversial decision, Mr Jones, who lives on the Isle of Sheppey, was editing the daily Kent Evening Post, then part of the Kent Messenger Group.

He was there two years later when the Dockyard gates banged shut for the last time.

Seven thousand workers, many as skilled as those at Pfizer, were thrown out of work. Unemployment in Medway soared to 20 per cent.

Support industries that depended on dockyard business were devastated.

"There had been several assurances that the dockyard was safe," he said.

"Then came the Falklands War and staff worked round the clock to get various warships ready. There were congratulations for their efforts and everyone thought this would lead to a reprieve.

"But when the announcement was made that the dockyard would close its doors for the last time in 1984 it was a tremendous shock.

"It was a devastating situation for the Medway Towns because with 7,000 people made redundant, virtually everybody in the Medway Towns had a relative or knew somebody who worked in the dockyard.

"The dockyard was the lifeblood of the Medway Towns. So much depended on it."

He recalled that a taskforce was set up and plans were worked out for Chatham Maritime and the Historic Dockyard. Unemployment fell to around three per cent.

"But it took many years for the Medway economy to recover."

He said the lesson learned from the episode was "the danger of having all your eggs in one basket".

"The important message was to diversify. Without that, you really are in trouble.

"You've got to have a number of industries or sources of employment if one goes belly up."

He added that many former dockyard workers started up their own businesses. "There is life after death," he added.