N E WS
Steel deal - Tees Valley mayor
Ben Houchen.
DON’T BE TOO
HASTY WITH
COVID-19 CHANGES
C
MAYOR HAILS SSI SITE DEAL
T
ees Valley mayor Ben Houchen
has hailed the agreement reached
with SSI over the former Redcar
steelworks land.
After weeks of intense final negotiation,
a landmark deal was negotiated that will
see the 840 acres of land owned by SSI
UK, along with all other assets on the site,
acquired by and transferred to the South
Tees Development Corporation (STDC).
As part of the agreement SSI will not fight
a Compulsory Purchase Order but the legal
process will continue so that smaller parcels
of land can be brought under the control of
the corporation.
Also part of the deal, 90 jobs have been
saved at Redcar Bulk Terminal, which will
continue to operate as normal.
The deal also includes a plan to develop a
state-of-the-art Electric Arc Furnace on the
STDC’s Lackenby site within three years.
At an emergency meeting of board
members for the corporation, the deal
received unanimous approval.
Last January mayor Houchen secured
a deal with Tata to transfer 1,420 acres,
an area almost the size of Gibraltar and
more than half of the developable land
at the former Redcar Steelworks, to the
development corporation.
The overwhelming majority of land at the
former steelworks site is now under the
control of the STDC.
Mayor Ben Houchen said: “I am delighted
we have reached an agreement with SSI to
take back control of the site of the former
Redcar steelworks.
“Thanks to the agreement we have
reached, we can move forward in breathing
new life into an area that was devastated
following the steelworks’ closure in 2015.
With the potential to create more than
20,000 jobs over the next two decades, this
really marks the beginning of a new era.
“I am grateful to the representatives
of SSI, and everyone involved in the
negotiations, who have worked so hard to
be able to get this over the line.”
The door is now open for Mayor Houchen
to secure the investment into the site, so
that regeneration can begin and good
quality, well paid jobs created.
Grand launch for UK-first clean energy project
T
ees Valley mayor Ben Houchen
met representatives from some
of the world’s biggest energy
companies to officially launch a clean
energy project set to bring 5,500 jobs
to the area.
At an event at Middlesbrough’s
Riverside Stadium, the mayor
introduced OGCI Climate Investments
to announce that a consortium of OGCI
members, under the leadership of BP,
would be accelerating the Net Zero
Teesside Project. The consortium comprises of Eni, Equinor, Shell, Total and BP.
Previously known as the Clean Gas Project, this major initiative aims to create the UK’s first
decarbonised industrial cluster using carbon capture, utilisation and storage
It could drive almost half a billion pounds into the regional economy and boost the wider
UK by £3.2bn.
Working in partnership with local industry and other regional stakeholders, the project
could capture six million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually – the equivalent annual energy
use of two million UK homes – and safely store it under the North Sea.
The project, with a start-up date of mid-2025, would be the first major development to be
based on the South Tees Development Corporation site.
ovid-19 has presented the
world with unparalleled and
unforeseen challenges, which has
consequently had a knock-on
effect to every business, across all
sectors.
We understand that the news
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Jo Davies
Managing director, HR Alchemy
Email: [email protected], call
03338 802810 or visit hraclchemy.co.uk
The voice of business in the Tees region | 9