What a year its been in Redcar and Cleveland! We’ve calculated that there’s over £7 BILLION worth of investment happening in Redcar and Cleveland, and many of these exciting projects are coming to life. There were also many well deserved award wins and lots of other good stuff happening – you can read our 2021 review below…
JANUARY
- Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) Cabinet agreed the bid for Teesside Freeport, which was later submitted to Government.
- Work starts on Guisborough Town Hall’s transformation.
FEBRUARY
- £650M TeesREP biomass plant at Teesport prepared for their switch-on, with up to 400 workers at the ready.
- #CompsForKids campaign (organised by Ladies of Steel and Karen King) helped kids with educational needs during lockdown, by providing donated tablets and laptops that were refurbished free of charge, by Enter IT. An 83-year-old man was amongst those who donated to the cause.
- British Steel UK broke daily & weekly production records after hiring and training 50 new starters.
- £300m Redcar Energy Centre gets approval, creating up to 500 jobs.
MARCH
- Teesside Freeport status announced – largest in the UK, it will create more than 18k jobs and provide £3.2b boost to the local economy in the next 5 years.
- GE Renewables chooses Teesworks for major wind turbine factory – over 2,000 jobs to be created.
- Mo Mowlam Academy in Redcar opened its doors for the first time, providing up to 100 students aged 5-16 with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
- 50 Ambassadors joined our third online event; ‘Investing in our bright future‘.
- Made from the last ever iron from the Blast Furnace, Teesworks UK creates steel heritage coin – proceeds went to Walk N Talk and Ladies of Steel.
- The Dark Skies Festival becomes permanent North York Moors feature, after 178k viewers tuning in last year.
- Archaeologists uncover pre-historic discovery in Loftus, a salt production mine that dates back to 3800 BC, making it older than Stonehenge!
APRIL
- Forbes featured Redcar-born Chloe Clover from Wander Films in their European ‘Forbes Top 30 Under 30‘.
- Festival of Thrift sets up their office in Redcar Palace Hub, joining a thriving creative community.
- BBC’s ‘Remarkable Places to Eat’ features The Seaview Restaurant in Saltburn.
- Saltburn’s first zero-waste shop opens its doors – The Cut Back, a crowdfunded business, opened in time to celebrate ‘National Earth Day’.
MAY
- In Mental Health Awareness Week, several guided nature walks and cycle paths took place across Redcar and Cleveland.
- Redcar and Saltburn beaches win prestigious seaside awards; ‘Blue Flag’ status for Saltburn; Seaside Award 2021 for Redcar.
- £5.8 million funding was granted by Government to transform Loftus, as part of the Future High Streets Fund.
- R|C Ambassadors raise £2.5k via CEO Sleepout for Redcar & Cleveland Mind.
- We launched our first ‘Ambassador Spotlight‘ feature with Karen King, from ‘King’s Celebrant Services‘!
- PD Ports unveil new £9.2m bulks terminal, creating 45 jobs.
- Peak Resources announce plans to develop rare earth processing plant at Wilton International, bringing 130 long-term jobs.
JUNE
- Redcar awarded £25m Town Deal Funding from government.
- Saltburn named as UK’s number one beach by Holiday Cottages UK and voted as UK’s best surf town by Guardian readers.
- Wilton Site chosen for conversion site for £3b wind farm.
- Gucci chooses Saltburn for childrenswear photoshoot.
- ICL Boulby unveils statue for 50 years of mining.
- Frans Calje, PD Ports & Sharon Lane, Tees Components make top 3 in Tees Business most inspiring business leaders.
- Skippers Lane Industrial Estate receives £50m investment, creating 8 new units and 134 jobs.
JULY
- Northern Gas Networks granted permission to build the world’s first hydrogen energy site in South Bank.
- Redcar & Cleveland College opens new football pitch
- Saltburn’s ‘Polyester’ launches Teesside-seaside sock range.
- Enjoy Tees Valley feature Redcar and Cleveland in promo video
- Whitetail Clean Energy – 8 Rivers Capital and Sembcorp UK announce new clean electricity plant – creating 2,000 jobs.
- Summer Sound in Guisborough and Redcar Beach Jam success.
AUGUST
- New modern toilet block and car park opens at Fountain Street in Guisborough.
- Tour Series – national pro cycle event takes place in Guisborough, with coverage on ITV4.
- Joanna Lumley greets fans on Redcar beach, during the filming of climate change documentary.
- Outdoor theatre takes place at Kirkleatham Museum Grounds – ‘The Two Fridas’ by Balbir Singh Dance Company and ‘The Wind In The Willows’ by Redcar-based Charm Productions UK.
SEPTEMBER
- Kirkleatham Walled Garden opens its doors to the public.
- Also at the Walled Garden, we hosted our biggest event to date: the Ambassador Showcase, with 150 attendees and 12 high-profile speakers.
- Festival of Thrift took place and breaks records, with 50,000 attendees.
- British Steel announces £26m investment – with new processing facilities to be constructed at Skinningrove site.
- ‘Make & Mend’ Festival takes place at Ormesby Hall.
OCTOBER
- The terrifyingly good Scream Factory creeped back into Kirkleatham.
- Redcar’s Chloe Clover wins Tees ‘Businesswoman of the Year’.
- Saltburn’s railway architecture features on national TV.
- Net Zero Teesside to become UKs leading carbon capture project, with 6,000 jobs to be created.
- GE Renewables gets green light for 2,250 job wind turbine factory.
- Saltburn hosts ‘Fantabulous Wild West Steampunk’ weekend.
NOVEMBER
- Teesside Freeport officially opens for business, expected to create 8,000 quality jobs!
- Shorty’s Gin to become Guisborough Town Hall’s first tenant, with plans for a new distillery and retail area.
- £3.2m community hub & park scheme in Loftus gets green light
- Construction starts for new & affordable housing in South Bank, led by Thirteen Group.
- Redcar and Cleveland success at ‘New Tees Business‘ awards.
- Coatham Seafront regeneration plans unveiled.
- SABIC pledges nearly £1b for green energy plant at Wilton International.
- Transpennine Express announce line extension of its Manchester service, to Saltburn.
- Kirkleatham Walled Garden hosts Redcar & Cleveland College’s graduation ceremony.
- Christmas in Redcar and Cleveland officially launches with Redcar light switch on and illumination parade, themed on ‘Fire and Ice’.
DECEMBER
- Newcomen Primary School feature in The Times and The Sunday Times top 5 North East Schools list.
- Our Ambassador event at Redcar & Cleveland College puts the spotlight on local community groups and projects.
- ICL Boulby granted 25 more years of polyhalite and salt production.
- Calculations reveal that Festival of Thrift contributed £2m+ to the local economy.
- BP announce plans to bring second hydrogen facility to Teesworks.
- Anglo American UK invest a further £530m for Woodsmith Mine project
- Sembcorp UK to build Europe’s largest battery as part of the firm’s Battery Energy Storage System at Wilton Site.
- Agreement signed to create new public open space on site of Goodwins and M&S buildings at Redcar High Street. The new space will enable events to take place and pop-up food, drink and retail operators to trade.
