TEES VALLEY
Impressive – The revamped airport terminal building .
We want to be the net zero equivalent of Silicon Valley and I don ’ t think it ’ s hyperbole to say that ."
we think there ’ s a big opportunity to move a huge amount of freight through Teesside .”
On the passenger side , buoyed by numbers using this year ’ s Ryanair and Tui flights , he ’ s promising more flights next summer . And a policy decision taken during Covid is paying dividends , given the chaos some airports have faced due to reduced staffing levels and the delays in taking new staff on .
He explained : “ We decided during Covid to top up everyone ’ s furlough to 100 per cent . That meant we didn ’ t lose staff , so they had all the anti-terrorism and security clearances in place when the airlines came back online .
“ The downside is trying to get airlines ’ attention at the moment because they are too busy fire-fighting the chaos elsewhere . But we will have , in summer 2023 , more flights from Teesside to more summer destinations and , hopefully , to some city destinations too .” Less than 20 miles away from the airport is , perhaps , the most strikingly symbolic example of where Tees Valley ’ s industrial future seems to lie .
The Teesworks development , on the vast site of the old Redcar steelworks , as well as the adjoining freeport , offers a multitude of possibilities .
Speaking as SeAH Wind prepares to start work on its 90-acre , £ 300m-plus wind turbine development , Mr Houchen said : “ The SeAH factory marks a new dawn for the site and very quickly , later this year , there ’ ll be others . In fact , there are at least six investors now agreed , and in legals , for draft documentation for us to sign off .
“ Getting rid of the old – the structures , problems and dangers onsite – will go on until October but then we ’ re very much moving into the new .”
The speed with which Teesworks schemes can get planning permission is , he says , a major draw for firms . And he says a major part of the new era will be Net Zero Teesside – a collection of businesses aiming to decarbonise their operations through carbon capture utilisation and storage ( CCUS ).
Mr Houchen enthused : “ It ’ s a $ 3-4bn project with 5,000 construction jobs alone – it ’ s off the chart really . If we deliver this , it genuinely does help change the world .
“ It ’ s a ‘ world first ’ and people want to be associated with that sort of tag .
“ In the same way Silicon Valley set itself up as the world ’ s IT and social media centre , we want to be the net zero equivalent of Silicon Valley and I don ’ t think it ’ s hyperbole to say that . It ’ s achievable and the projects we have coming , in general , are no longer UK-leading , they are world-leading .
“ Now it ’ s about making sure no one steals a march on us and catches up – making sure we continue to be open for business and telling investors that if they want to invest in these green technologies , we ’ ll do everything to bring you here .”
He does , however , acknowledge the Tees Valley needs to keep shouting about its potential .
“ We are a hidden treasure – that ’ s why we ’ re trying to share with the world what we ’ re doing because it will create other opportunities . Other people will have ideas , hear about what we ’ re doing and it might solve a lot of their problems because we are , for lots of businesses , the missing piece in the jigsaw .”
So there ’ s plenty to go at – and we haven ’ t even touched on the new development corporations for Middlesbrough and Hartlepool .
And while he admits to frustration at how long some things take – “ I ’ m always wanting things done tomorrow instead of in three months ’ time ” – he believes there ’ s never been a better time to invest in this region .
He said : “ This is our time . Tees Valley is the fastest growing area in the country outside of London . It ’ s attracting global-scale investment in new technologies – from hydrogen through to carbon capture and all clean , green new technologies . And that leads to some amazing opportunities for people to come , visit and invest here .
“ We ’ re at a very fortunate point in time where all the stars are aligning – now it ’ s how quickly we can run to make it all happen .”
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