The Teesside skyline is set to change forever as officials pledge that every structure of the former Redcar Steelworks will be down within a year.
The Northern Echo is reporting that the first phase of the work has been taking place since the Teesworks site was launched last July, creating hundreds of demolition jobs. Work will now be accelerated so that the land is ready for investors as soon as possible.
The announcement comes nearly six years after the mothballing of the SSI site was announced, ending 170 years of steelmaking on Teesside.
The work will see all of the old iron and steelmaking plants demolished, with contracts for their demolition appointed by August and work beginning on August 2.
It is expected more than 1,000 workers will be on-site over the next 12-months to carry out the work.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “The blast furnace has dominated Redcar’s skyline for the past 40-years but now we must move on, bring it down and look forward to the site’s bright future.
“I’m not letting anything get in the way of creating the high-quality, well-paid jobs people are crying out for. That’s why we’ll be signing up local businesses to get on site as early as August to demolish the remaining buildings, with the buildings and structures down within a year – way ahead of our original schedule.
