Life along the river hasn’t been the same since the building of the Tees Barrage. Steve Pratt takes a boat trip to view the changes and learn about plans to turn the area in a watersports and leisure centre.

FIFTEEN years ago the poor quality of the industrially- polluted water would have burned your skin. Today, if you jumped over the side of the powerboat in which we’re travelling and into the Tees, the worst that could happen is a shock from the coldness of the water.

The stretch of the Tees through Stockton and Middlesbrough has changed and will continue to do so as plans to develop the water sports and leisure facilities progress.

The famous “walk in the wilderness”

by Prime Minister Thatcher in 1987, striding across the devasted post-industrial landscape on the banks of the Tees, was the signal for change.

Today, the area – home to steelmakers before the massive urban regeneration project announced by the Iron Lady – is home to a satellite campus of Durham University as well as businesses and offices. New homes and brightly-coloured student flats have sprung up along the river, once tidal but now permanently high tide since the construction of the Tees Barrage. The water is stained brown, but the quality is good.

A trip along the river in a powerboat, captained by Simon White, of Castlegate Quays Watersports Centre, shows what the river has to offer – and also what it’s lacking if the area is to fulfill its potential.

With the sun shining, water glistening and green as far as you can see on the banks, you might be cruising along one of the posher parts of the Thames. Kingfishers, otters and sandmartins are commonplace.

Foxes are seen by the river at night.

On a quiet Monday morning, there is little to disturb the tranquillity of not so much messing about on the river but just enjoying the sunshine and scenery as those aboard who work on the river expand on plans to make it even more attractive and encourage greater use.

The Teesside Princess river cruiser sails year round from Castlegate Quay to Yarm, via Preston Hall Museum and Park for those who like to keep their feet dry. Others can choose from a range of water sports including canoeing, kayaking and jet-skiing.

But old images of the industrial North have not been completely eradicated yet. “Because people tend to see the industry side, they don’t necessarily pick up on the recreational side,” says Alan Slater, river manager for British Waterways.

He came to the region for the building of the Tees Barrage in the early Nineties and is well placed to offer before-and-after views of the Tees, even if he’s gently critical of a riverside that boasts a single pub.

The town of Stockton has turned its back on the river with shops facing away from it, creating a physical as well as psychological barrier between people and water. That can be helped by creating footpaths along with cafes, bars, restaurants and perhaps a hotel, which are some of the projects taken up by the Middlesbrough- Stockton Initiative (MSI).

“We’ve gone from a tidal industrial river which people didn’t want to spend time adjacent to. Historically, there wasn’t a need for people to use the river. We’re working with local partners to improve footpaths, even if that requires putting in additional ones,” says Mr Slater.

“It started off with Margaret Thatcher’s walk in the wilderness – that’s why the barrage is here. It was pretty far-sighted to put in the barrage to have the links between Stockton and Middlesbrough because there are good things on both sides of it.

“In the future people could be sitting in a nice environment having a good cup of coffee overlooking what’s an excellent resource.

“When I came here it would have been very difficult to picture how the river Tees would be transformed from the polluted estuary I started working in to something that’s got a reputation as an international water sports centre.”

He sees changes on Newcastle Quayside as a “good quality waterfront development”. The difference to the Tees scheme is that the water is unusable, to be looked at but not to be touched.

How unlike the Tees, with its growing reputation for watersports.

British jet-ski racing and international masters waterskiing championships are held there. The only drawback, British champion Jason Seels is reported as saying, is “that water is bloody cold”.

“A lot of these competitors train in beautiful countries with a better climate but always enjoy the warmth of the hospitality they receive in the North-East,” says Mr Slater.

“The Tees temperature in summer can go up to 24 which, in this part of the world, is totally tropical.”

Les Southerton, MSI project director, is convinced the setting of the Tees Barrage can be exploited to make it a mecca for water-based tourism with new activities and facilities, such as a marina.

One of the most ambitious plans is the upgrading of the white water canoeing course into not only one of the best in the world but one suitable for both experts and novices.

There’ll be a new short course with the fastest artificial water in the country.

Other plans involve using a former railway marshalling yard for housing. And a marina is another objective.

“What we have to do is tie the banks of the river together, then package up and promote it,” says Mr Southerton. “It’s not an alternative to walking on the North York Moors.

That’s a different experience. But you can come here to walk or cycle and we have industrial architecture and fascinating bridges.”

Our mini-voyage took us from Infinity – the latest, £15m bridge across the Tees opened on Thursday – and beyond without any help from Buzz Lightyear.

Some might consider the journey was a bridge too far. Middlesbrough’s most famous bridge, the Transporter, is on the other side of the barrage, but there’s no shortage of bridges. The number is in danger of running into double figures.

The line-up features both old, such as the Victoria Bridge opened in 1887 to mark the 50th year of the Queen’s reign, and the new, including the Princess of Wales Bridge opened in 1992 along with road and rail bridges.

The public will get a taste of what this river corridor has to offer this summer with the North-East firstever water sports and river festival, centre around the Tees Barrage and Stockton riverside, from August 22 to 28.