£4million Pledged For Vital Industrial Estate Expansion

A £4million funding boost to help expand a major industrial estate, paving the way for a further £15.7million of business investment, has today taken a big step forward.

In the first phase of the project, Redcar’s Skippers Lane Industrial Estate would be extended by almost eight acres to the east of the current site, with a new roundabout at the existing Skipper’s Lane/Sotherby Road junction, plus a new road for highways access on to the site. Further works would also unlock an extra 20 acres of land for future development again to the east of the site.

Eight new units will be built, totalling 86,500sq ft of floorspace and capable of supporting 134 jobs, with interest already being shown in half of this newly developed area.

The scheme is being supported by a £3.5million investment from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority and £433,000 in funding from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. Spades are expected to be in the ground as early as January next year, subject to ongoing discussions and a successful planning application later this year.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “I realise industrial estates aren’t the most glamorous or shiny of investments, but they are vital to give our brilliant businesses the room they need to grow and, in turn, create good-quality, well-paid jobs for local people.

“As we continue to recover our economy from the coronavirus pandemic, we need to get moving today on schemes which will support the expansion of our companies tomorrow and we’ve already seen that there is appetite for this particular project.

“It will also give us the option of creating many more units in the future at a great location close to Teesworks, the UK’s largest Freeport. As works ramp up on site and we see further investment in clean energy, offshore and advanced manufacturing, there’ll be even more opportunity for our supply chain businesses to thrive and develop right here in Redcar.”

Councillor Mary Lanigan, Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, said: “This is about delivering high quality jobs, supporting our fantastic businesses on Skippers Lane and ensuring Redcar and Cleveland remains highly attractive for new investors.

“This project at what is a vitally important industrial site demonstrates the ‘can-do’, pro-business energy in Redcar and Cleveland and across the Tees Valley where business, councils and many other partners work together to bring prosperity.

“But it doesn’t stop here. We will continue to work with whoever it takes to bring even more investment and jobs right across the borough, from improvements to our world-beating industrial site at Teesport to huge investment programmes for our towns and villages.”