Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has confirmed plans to build an offshore wind manufacturing site at Teesworks, generating 9,000 jobs and achieving a significant milestone.

Planning permission has been approved for 4.5 million sq ft of industrial space on the site of the former SSI steelworks in Redcar, which would also generate 1,000 construction jobs over the eight-year construction program.

More than 430 acres of land along the River Tees will be remedied and transformed into a manufacturing area that could welcome its first tenants as early as 2022.

The news comes just weeks after Mayor Houchen laid out his plans for Teesworks’ £90 million quay to support the proposed offshore wind manufacturing site. Development will give the economy a major boost, adding up to an estimated £180 million a year until it is fully up and running.

The initial phase of site clearance and advanced demolition was completed on schedule at the beginning of October. The contract for the €4 million project was awarded to Hall Construction as part of Mayor Ben Houchen’s pledge to build local employment by offering these opportunities to local businesses.

“I’m delighted these game-changing plans have been approved. This is one of the biggest planning applications in the North of England and it will see a key part of the Teesworks site, that’s three times larger than the Amazon facility in Darlington, brought back to life.

“Teesside is already leading the way for the rest of the UK to follow with our clean energy plans, but this takes us to the next stage. This space will be used to manufacture offshore wind turbines, and the new heavy lifting quay we announced last month will give ships and international firms easy access to be able to transport not only these turbines, but also all the other exciting projects and businesses that will be located on site.

“Redevelopment of the Teesworks site is a critical part of my plan for jobs, and already 557 local people from across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool are working onsite, including former steelworkers who until recently were working as contractors around the country, now they are back working close to home and putting more money in their pocket for them and their families.

“These are exciting times at Teesworks with a hive of activity, local workers returning to site and contracts being awarded to local firms. With the right plan, we are turning the site into a real hive of activity that people can be proud of again.”

Mayor Houchen.