LAND once dominated by heavy industry could be transformed into an engineering business park for the renewable energy sector.

Up to £46m could be generated for the region if plans to build an Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) on a 32-acre site at South West Iron Masters in Middlesbrough get the go-ahead.

The site has the capacity to house up to 50,000sq m of business space and accommodate more than 1,000 jobs Wynyard Park Ltd, based in Billingham, is planning to recreate an established development in South Yorkshire which has turned a former cokeworks site into a major centre for aerospace and nuclear technology.

Through its supply chain model and tapping into research carried out at Sheffield University, the site has attracted global companies including Boeing and Rolls Royce.

Wynyard Park is proposing that the supply chain focus in Middlesbrough would initially be on the future energy sector with research links established with Teesside University and the Welding Institute.

North-East firms have joined forces under the Chain Reaction initiative, which will create a globally-recognised centre of renewable energy excellence in the region.

Teesside is in pole position to serve the largest project, located on Dogger Bank, as the Government develops a £75bn programme for nine offshore wind farm zones.

The South West Iron Masters site on the banks of the River Tees at Riverside Park next to the A66 is part of a package put forward by regeneration agency, Tees Valley Unlimited, as an Enterprise Zone.

The new zones offer discounted business rates, simplified planning procedures and superfast internet broadband to help attract firms.

Proposals for the undeveloped site, owned by Middlesbrough Council will be discussed at the council's executive meeting on Tuesday.

Council officers are recommending that the executive backs the initiative.

A report produced for the meeting said: "The opportunity to capture the development of an Advanced Manufacturing Park in Middlesbrough, similar to that established in Rotherham/Sheffield could potentially provide the local economy with a significant boost.

"Losing the development to an alternative location could also weaken the existing engineering cluster in the area that provides employment for many Middlesbrough residents."

A spokesman for Wynyard Park Ltd declined to comment before a decision is reached on Tuesday.