Redcar steelworks redevelopment receives funding boost

The former SSI Steelworks in Redcar has been handed a redevelopment boost, with £71M in government funding.

The redevelopment of the former steelworks will see it turned into a huge business zone, home to world-leading, clean energy, manufacturing and tech companies.

The funding comes as part of the election manifesto promises, which looked to ‘level-up’ fiunding to all areas of the UK, particularly those towns that feel ‘left behind’.

Since the steelworks went into liquidation in 2015, it has been a local priority to create a new role for the site, and the wider 4,500-acre South Tees Development Corporation area, to become a key driver of economic growth in the North East.

The area is one of the largest redevelopment opportunities in the country, and the Development Corporation plans to develop it into a business park, attracting companies from a range of industries and creating thousands of jobs once the area is fully developed.

The funding will support work demolishing old buildings and preparing the site for redevelopment to attract new businesses and investment. It will also help the Development Corporation secure some of the land to ensure the whole area can then be regenerated.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rishi Sunak, said: “This is our levelling-up agenda in action, as we back Teesside’s exciting ambitions to be a global trading centre with great jobs for world-leading industries.

“We want to unleash the potential in Teesside and across the country to make the most of the opportunities available for the future.”

The Development Corporation will set out a strategy later in 2020 which will lay out the Tees Valley’s vision to establish the area as a leading location for clean energy, low carbon and hydrogen, including the application of industrial decarbonisation and clean growth technologies.

Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, said: “This Government stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Teesside in bringing this historic site back to life.

“Backing Tees Valley with this multi-million pound funding will transform this site, creating well paid jobs, boosting economic growth and unlocking opportunities for the area to thrive.”

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