Enabling Teesworks: Regenerating an industrial legacy

Teesworks is a multibillion pound development located within the 4,500-acre South Tees Development Corporation area, on the former Redcar steelworks site in Tees Valley, Northeast England. It is Europe’s largest single brownfield regeneration programme. Aligning with broader environmental goals, the programme aims to lead the UK's clean energy revolution through delivery of a world-class industrial zone and a thriving hub for decarbonised growth and advanced manufacturing.

Strategically located on the south bank of the River Tees, and part of the Teesside Freeport - the largest in the UK - the site offers a gateway to global markets and prime access for regional growth, and is predicted to create up to 20,000 jobs and attract billions in domestic and international investment.

AtkinsRéalis continues to play a pivotal role in delivering this vision by providing professional services across the programme - from technical design and advisory services linked to specialist site decontamination, utilities, highways, structures, and rail links, to programme and cost management of NEC contracts that have delivered over 1,300,000m3  of land remediation, complex demolition programmes, and a new deep water quay on the Tees to serve the offshore wind and other markets.  Our involvement has helped create significant areas of investor-ready development land, enabling a range of innovative and transformative clean energy programmes to proceed.

Client challenge

The site presents major challenges due to its historical industrial past, requiring the transformation of a massive steelworks, with a 170-year history, into an investable location, including major construction operations and adherence to the highest HSE standards.

Demolition and decontamination phases on the steelworks were challenging and complex, involving the dismantling of over 400 individual structures across 10 major facilities, many of which were impacted by legacy hazardous materials, contained in a complex network of pipework and vessels. Additionally, extensive underground infrastructure added further logistical and engineering challenges to the asset demolition and decontamination programme.

Post-demolition the site has required major infrastructure upgrades, including port and roads access, and strategic utilities. Investor requirements have had to be addressed, particularly around the condition of the reclaimed land for the establishment of new, heavy industrial operations.  Timely delivery has been critical to attracting strategic, inward investment to enable economic regeneration of the region.

In support of the client team, external consultants’ expertise was critical to manage multiple technical activities and workstreams – such as, environmental permitting, ground remediation, utilities coordination, stakeholder engagement, and infrastructure delivery – across the development timeframe impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solutions provided

AtkinsRéalis has served as both strategic adviser and lead delivery partner across numerous programmes to date, offering end-to-end support that combined strategic advisory and technical delivery. Collaborating with the client and investors, our team has advised on optimal land use, utilities planning, commercial negotiations, and procurement packages, including mobilising a framework of specialist contractors.

Our team led one of Europe’s largest demolition and decontamination programmes, over a period of 4 years with as many as 12 contracts running simultaneously, including follow on land remediation and soil and waste management to prepare certified, development-ready land. A robust innovative materials and waste management strategy has been developed and deployed to maximise the reuse of earthworks materials and ensure environmental compliance, enhancing sustainability by diverting waste from landfill.

We continue to support Teesworks, providing ongoing engagement with the Environment Agency building regulatory trust, with soil reuse managed through Materials Management Plans in accordance with the Definition of Waste Code of Practice (DoW CoP), and through waste recovery permits.

Infrastructure delivery has been fundamental, including our role as Project Manager for the design and construction of the first phase of the 1km South Bank Quay (now Steel River Quay) to support offshore wind logistics, and the design and project management of new access roads and broader transport upgrades across the site, including a major park-and-ride facility currently in delivery. 

Since 2021, we have undertaken a rolling programme of bridge inspections and assessments of key infrastructure assets across Teesworks, and developed intervention strategies for asset life prolongation.

Key outcomes

These works have helped lay the foundations for the continued social and economic regeneration and transformation of the former Redcar steelworks into a hub for clean energy and advanced manufacturing.

Certified, investable land

AtkinsRéalis has helped ensure the safe demolition and continuing remediation of one of Europe’s most complex industrial sites, prioritising hazardous materials management and helping to enable optimised scrap metals recovery. A key focus has been the sustainable reuse of below-ground materials to support the site’s redevelopment, cutting carbon emissions. By reusing site-won soils under strict regulatory controls, the team has enabled the client to avoid costly landfill disposal and massively reduced the need for imported materials.

Environmental and human health risks have been effectively managed, with flexible, strategic soil handling. Comprehensive remediation and certification has provided investors with confidence to commit to long-term development on previously unusable land.

Local job creation  

AtkinsRéalis continues to play a key role in boosting local employment at Teesworks by aligning its resourcing strategy with regional economic goals. From early decontamination to ongoing construction, the company supports job creation, skills development, and community resilience.  Local recruitment and strong partnerships with universities in Teesside, Leeds, and Newcastle have created early career pathways through graduate roles and apprenticeships.  It is estimated that so far almost 2,725 new jobs have been created by Teesworks.

Social value embedded

Over and above direct employment, social value has been a core focus at Teesworks, with a strong emphasis on skills training and partnerships with regional universities and colleges. From the beginning, contracts have prioritised local suppliers and contractors, with a clear focus on apprenticeships and workforce development. STEM outreach in schools and colleges further supports this commitment. These efforts are closely aligned with the Teesworks Skills Academy and jobs portal, helping to upskill the local workforce and build a legacy of opportunity rooted in the region’s industrial heritage.

Major tenants secured

Significant inward investment has positioned Teesworks as a leading hub for clean energy and industrial innovation, already securing major tenants and over £2 billion in committed funding. Key developments that AtkinsRéalis has helped to enable and facilitate include the UK’s first gas-fired power station with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (Net Zero Teesside Power) and a £950 million offshore wind monopile manufacturing facility (SeAH Wind). With 15%^[1] of the site already occupied and additional zones designated for hydrogen, manufacturing, logistics, and distribution, Teesworks is rapidly emerging as a national leader in sustainable industrial development.

Strategic infrastructure delivered

Beyond its achievements to date, that have helped support the delivery of the South Bank Quay and the SeAH Wind factory, AtkinsRéalis continues to play a pivotal role in the delivery of essential infrastructure including bridges, roads and utilities - enabling further large-scale industrial activity to be realised on the site. Key assets like the quay and new access roads, along with the 1,500-space Park and Ride facility currently underway, will support long-term operations and enhance site access.

Economic regeneration

Teesworks is catalysing economic renewal in one of the UK’s most deprived areas, with long-term growth projected across housing, education, and business. AtkinsRéalis has helped enable this by developing strong local engagement and community partnerships which have been pivotal in ensuring inclusive, sustainable regeneration.

Social and economic renewal

Beyond physical redevelopment, the programme has reignited civic pride and redefined Tees Valley as a centre for clean energy and sustainable industrial growth, driving long-term social and economic transformation.

John McNicholas, Engineering & Programme Director at Teesworks commented, "AtkinsRéalis has been instrumental in helping to transform Teesworks into a national exemplar of brownfield regeneration and sustainable industrial development. Their expertise in the delivery of complex demolition, remediation, and infrastructure has been a major factor in unlocking investor-ready land and has helped lay the foundations for a clean energy future in the Tees Valley. 

Through their significant contributions to the Teesworks programme, they are supporting the realisation of the UK’s net zero ambitions and levelling up agenda, while creating real social value through local job creation, skills development, and community engagement. Teesworks is fast becoming a beacon of economic and environmental renewal, and AtkinsRéalis has been a trusted delivery partner every step of the way."

^[1] Source: teesworks.co.uk on 29 May 2025