Work begins on former steelworks site in Teesside – in a project which could create 9,000 jobs
Work has started on the former steelworks site in Teesside, in a project which could create 9,000 jobs.
Part of the 2,500-acre site near Redcar is being prepared for a major manufacturing centre which could bring employment and investment from offshore wind and processing companies.
Three months ago, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen won the right to buy the land for his South Tees Development Corporation from banks in Thailand, which owned it after SSI collapsed in 2015.
The closure of the steelworks led to the loss of almost 3,000 jobs and was a devastating economic blow for the area.
Now, Mr Houchen plans to prepare a 430-acre section of the site, which borders the River Tees not far from Grangetown, and has applied for planning permission from Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council for 4.5 million square feet of manufacturing space there.
That would be three times larger than Amazon’s huge new warehouse on the outskirts of Darlington.
Mr Houchen said 1,000 jobs would be created during the construction phase alone.
When compulsory purchase order proceedings against SSI and the three Thai banks began, Mr Houchen said he was clear that "we owed it" to the former steelworkers and their families to secure the site for the people of Teesside.
ITV Tyne Tees understands that there are also hopes that Teesside can win the lion’s share of manufacturing work on the world’s largest wind farm, which is planned for 80 miles off the coast, on a massive sandbank in the North Sea known as Dogger Bank.
The factory space on the SSI site could prove ideal for making and shipping out wind farm towers and turbines.
A platform vessel, Haven Seariser 2, has been off the coast of Marske, east Cleveland for the last two weeks taking geological samples of the sea bed as preparation for the massive new energy farm.
It is also understood that one contract has already been signed for the SSI site, with negotiations advanced on others.