PEOPLE on Teesside have been able to see for themselves the progress which is being made at the giant Teesworks development at a series of open public tours of the site.

Almost 200 people signed up to be taken on the free tour to see the work which is going on at the former steelworks site on the south bank of the River Tees and the progress being made on transforming Teesworks into a green energy hub and national centre for Net Zero industries.

Teesworks Ltd chairman Chris Musgrave OBE: “We were really pleased with the uptake and reactions to the guided tours of Teesworks. It was important that the public got the chance to understand the scale of the development of the site, the work that has already been carried out and the exciting developments still to come.

“While photographs and videos help to give some idea of what Teesworks is all about, it’s only by seeing the development that you really get a sense of the transformational effect it will have on the landscape and the prospects of the area.”

Sharon Dunn, a retired school business manager from Redcar, was one of the first attendees on the Teesworks tours.

She said: “Our daughter has just started an apprenticeship with SeAH Wind, so we know firsthand what Teesworks is bringing to the region when it comes to future skills and job creation.

“My first impression of the site was that I couldn’t believe the vast scale of it and all the work that has been going on.”

Jake Stephen Milner, a PhD student at Teesside University, said: “My first impressions are that the development is a good start, but we need more industry to come to the area which has suffered a lot in the last 50 years from the deindustrialisation. It’s great to see things are getting back on track.”

Paul Whitton, a Business Development Manager from Hartlepool, said: “The Teesworks site is vital because if you think about it, thousands of jobs in the steel industry were lost and all the connected supply chain.

“We’re now starting to reverse that and Teesworks is at the heart of it, with other businesses benefiting in the connected sectors it’s very important for the economy of Teesside that the site continues to move forward.”