Details of the £200m airport business park set to be established on the southside of Teesside International Airport – and which will create thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs – have been unveiled today.
Plans for such a development had been proposed for years but following the deal to take the airport in to public ownership by Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, these proposals are finally coming to fruition.
The original deal to buy the airport and save it from closure included 817 acres of developable land, giving the airport huge opportunities to drive inward investment across the whole site.
The Southside land, comprising 270 acres and running parallel to the runway, is the largest area primed for development.
The new business park is expected to create up to 4,400 jobs when fully operational, made up of 1.9m sq ft of logistics, distribution, and industrial buildings, with direct access from the A67.
The first phase will see the creation of four new units along a through road, with the ability to split them into as many as ten smaller units, covering 130,000sq ft. Subsequent phases would see plots of between one to 200 acres developed as more businesses look to base themselves at the airport.
The new 1.5km A67 link road, running direct to the southside area will lead to the creation of a new roundabout close to Wilkinson’s Plant Centre.
Construction on the scheme should begin within weeks, with work starting on the new road infrastructure.
Once this is complete, work will begin on the business park, which is due to be completed by this summer.
As part of wider programme of development at the airport, and as part of the 10-year Business Plan, a new multi-million pound freight cargo facility has been established, further maximising the property and assets of the airport.
The new facility boasts the latest in screening technology and offers daily services for freight movements as well as supporting ad-hoc charters for specialised cargo.
Tees mayor Houchen said: “Ahead of our bigger and better summer schedule this year, the bulk of our multimillion-pound terminal redevelopment is complete, with Bannatyne Spa opening just last week.
“This will all give our passengers a warm welcome and unforgettable experience.
“I’ve always said our airport is about far more than just flights for business and pleasure, as important as these are.
“For our airport to thrive we need to have a fantastic offering for local businesses and to attract firms from other parts of the UK and from around the world to come to our region – bringing investment and good-quality, well-paid jobs for the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool. That’s why these plans are so important.
“We’ve already seen commitment from the likes of Draken and Willis which currently operate out of our airport, but there’s still so much untapped potential and this multimillion-pound development will bring even more.
“This will not only benefit companies looking to base themselves here and grow – including those linked to aviation and logistics – but provide funding that we can pump back into our airport to make it secure and profitable for years to come.”
