Looking Ahead: Big Projects To Come In 2025 Across Our Region

SeAH Wind Factory

The huge £900million half-mile long wind turbine monopile manufacturing facility is set for completion in the coming spring. Its construction has created more than 1,500 jobs and it will provide 750 permanent jobs at the mammoth base when complete – with turbine monopiles to be shipped over Steel River Bank Quay to the River Tees and worldwide.

Darlington Station

Creating two new platforms, a new entrance hall, walkways, car park and better public onward transport links, the major £140million overhaul of Darlington Station is set to be completed in 2025. The project will not only create a gateway fit for the town, it will also open up capacity on the wider Tees Valley rail network to more services, and open the door to allowing more freight in and out of our region.

200^th Anniversary of Passenger Railway

A huge raft of events will mark the 200^th anniversary of passenger railways – born in the Tees Valley. There will be plenty to mark the birthday of the first passenger journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in September 1825, including a series of free large-scale outdoor spectacles, events, exhibitions and new art commissions in the public spaces, libraries and world-class museums of County Durham and Tees Valley from March to November 2025. 

Malaga Flight

Yet another name returns to Teesside Airport departure boards in 2025 – it’s Malaga! The new Ryanair service will connect families with the sun-drenched Costa del Sol – one of Spain’s most popular holiday destinations from 31 March to late October on Mondays and Thursdays. Secure your 2025 flights from Teesside to Malaga here.

Eaglescliffe Station

Much-needed access improvements at Eaglescliffe Station will take big strides toward completion in 2025. A new pedestrian footbridge to boost accessibility to the west of the station and to Durham Lane Industrial Estate is part of a wider revamp. The £15.3million rail project has seen £8.8million come from the Combined Authority with £7.5million from Network Rail. Three lifts will be installed connecting the existing and new car park and Eaglescliffe’s island platform with the current footbridge to provide easier access for passengers. The station taxi office is being rebuilt with a new brick waiting shelter with ticket counter also created on the platform. And Stockton Council are also creating a nearby car park and sorting cycling infrastructure.

Gresham Work Starts

The Middlesbrough Development Corporation is now entering its delivery phase. A new 200-bedroom hotel in the heart of Middlesbrough, at Gresham, will see building work begin this coming year.

The Fairfield by Marriott hotel will be the newest name on Middlesbrough’s skyline.

The first phase of the Development Corporation’s masterplan will seek planning approval for five mews houses, more than 230 build to rent properties, and a new block to offer student accommodation for more than 400 people.

Hartlepool Waterfront Starts

Similarly, a vision for a £120million housing and commercial development planned for Hartlepool waterfront will see spades in the ground in 2025.

The burgeoning Hartlepool Development Corporation and property developer Jomast have joined forces with other stakeholders to push forward a mixed 650-home development alongside additional retail, leisure and medical facilities across several key brownfield sites at the waterfront.

Expected to deliver significant job and investment opportunities, the development will provide a mix of family, young professional, retirement, and affordable housing, both for rent and sale at attractive, in sustainable locations near the town centre.

Building work on the 650-home development is forecast to begin in the first half of 2025.

NZT to Start  

Net Zero Teesside Power, which aims to be the world’s first gas-fired power station with carbon capture and storage, will see building on Teesworks, Redcar, in 2025 – a stone’s throw from where the Blast Furnace once stood. It will sit in parallel with the Northern Endurance Partnerships transportation and storage infrastructure. Land work to prepare the huge 106-acre site has been successfully completed, and with Government backing, the bp-led project will begin construction in mid-2025. Plenty of activity on land remediation on the proposed 90-acre H2Teesside plot, on the nearby Foundry site, will continue through the next 12 months.

Stockton Waterfront

The upcoming Stockton Waterfront project will provide an urban park with open, flexible spaces for community, large scale events for people of all ages to enjoy. Led by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, and backed with funding from the Combined Authority, it will cover an area three times the size of Trafalgar Square when complete in 2026.  A riverside park with open spaces for families, market spaces and opportunities for cafes and kiosk are all part of the plans.

TV and Film: I fought the law/Transaction/and more

The film and TV industry in our region has gone from strength to strength in recent years with the help of the North East Screen Industries Partnership, North East Screen, investment from the BBC and work ambitions to expand the Northern Studios, in Hartlepool, as part of the Hartlepool Development Corporation’s ambitions.

The coming 12-months will see even more productions hitting our screens, including ‘I Fought the Law’ starring Sheridan Smith as Billingham mum, Ann Ming, who battled to overturn the double jeopardy law which saw her daughter’s killer evade justice for 17 years. Six-part comedy series, ‘Transaction’, filmed in Hartlepool, will also hit TV screens with Jordan Gray and Nick Frost.

Artists of the Year 2025

This year marked the inaugural Tees Valley Artists of the Year awards with five artists each receiving a career changing £30,000 investment and a year-long programme of strategic support to accelerate their development.

Another new round of artists is set to be unveiled in Spring to give them support to take their careers to the next level, and give them the space they need to produce the work they want.

More Airport Business Park Development and tenants

New tenants and developments are expected at the Teesside Airport Business Park in 2025. This comes on the back of success in 2024, with FedEx relocating from Newcastle to Teesside with eight freight flights per week, and the arrival of aircraft painting firm Airbourne Colours.

A 5G test bed will also come to fruition on the site in the next 12 months.

Teesworks Tours

Tours of the huge 2,500-acre site saw 200 people enjoy with all places snapped up within 48 hours of being made available. On the back of their popularity, the tours to see the rapid progress made on the south bank of the River Tees will return in Spring.