ADVERTORIAL FEATURE
Teesworks
– from the start
CREATING THE FOUNDATIONS
Overview The South Tees Development Corporation ( STDC ) boundary spans more than 4,500 acres . This covers all of the Teesworks site , PD Teesport , Redcar Bulk Terminal , British Steel and other land holdings .
The Teesworks site comprises 2,500 acres , of which approximately 1,500 acres can be made available for development .
Initial work started in summer 2020 and focused on decontamination , site clearance and understanding the constraints and scope of works required to bring this huge site forward for development and investment .
BEFORE
Background Teesworks Limited , the company behind the development , is a public / private joint venture partnership between STDC and private-sector developers ( Chris Musgrave OBE and Martin Corney ).
Compulsory Purchase Order ( CPO ) Much of the current Teesworks site was formerly the SSI steel-making plant . Due to global market forces , SSI ceased production on site in 2015 , with more than 3,000 jobs lost .
After forming STDC in 2017 , a plan to clear the site and develop on it was created and a CPO was submitted by STDC . In 2019 , it became evident the private sector partners held significant leverage to support STDC in the CPO . The private sector partners successfully negotiated with SSI to withdraw all of its objections to the CPO . This led to the successful conclusion of the CPO and the site was secured under the Teesworks Limited joint venture structure in 2020 .
The CPO process was essential to take possession of the site and to start the mammoth task of clearing all redundant structures and various restrictions and constraints on the site .
Demolition and land clearance The first phase of work was clearing the derelict former steelworks - a multitude of redundant structures , pipelines and aboveground contamination covering hundreds of acres .
STDC took responsibility for this work , which needed major development expertise . Teesworks Limited ’ s privatesector partners provided strategic guidance and support , accelerating progress through development experience .
The site clearance was the largest demolition project in the UK for decades and won Thompsons of Prudhoe the
Before - Site clearance of the former steelworks site was the largest demolition project in the UK for decades .
Contractor of the Year award at the World Demolition Awards . STDC originally estimated the work would take five to eight years , but it was finished in just over two years .
Remediation The Teesworks site is “ made ” land ( land made up of the byproduct of the iron / steelmaking process over many decades ). This means once any redundant structures or materials have been cleared , the site must be remediated : land must be dug out and the material processed and reengineered back into the ground at a suitable standard to allow the land to be built on again .
JANUARY 2020
26 | Tees Business