Work begins on multi-million pound SSI steelworks project set to create 20,000 jobs

Redevelopment work has begun on the South Tees Development Corporation site as part of a plan set to create tens of thousands of jobs.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has contracted Hartlepool firm Seymour Civil Engineering to carry out site clearance and preparation work on the land known locally as the Grangetown Prairie.

The announcement comes days after the compulsory purchase ruling, which granted the Development Corporation powers to purchase the former SSI steelworks, along with a further 112 acres of land, following a three-year-battle.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen commented: ““I’ve always said this redevelopment will be about creating good quality, high skilled local jobs for local people. Having a fantastic Hartlepool business like Seymour shows it won’t just be the surrounding community that will benefit, it will be the whole of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.

“This work is being carried out by local businesses who are employing local people, which is more important than ever due to the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in because of the coronavirus.

“We need to do everything we can to support business in this area during this difficult time, and there’s no better way of doing that than giving them work on one of the biggest regeneration projects in Europe.”

The initial work being carried out by Seymour is part of a multi-million pound masterplan between the Mayor and the Development Corporation, which will see the creation of 20,000 new jobs.

Cllr Mary Lanigan, leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, added: “Starting the redevelopment work of the former SSI site is a huge step forward and one which brings the prospect of high-quality jobs for many thousands of people across the region.

“The site has the potential to bring prosperity and a better quality of life for so many of our residents and seeing the development of large-scale, cutting-edge manufacturing on the site would be a fitting use for a borough which made the steel that built structures which transformed places around the world.

“We look forward to helping make that vision into a reality, which will be transformational for Redcar and Cleveland.”

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