Teesside might be worlds away from the headquarters of Apple and Tesla - but Mayor Ben Houchen thinks the former Redcar steelworks could be the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley.

It’s been ten years since the coke ovens closed for good at the Thai-owned Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK (SSI) steelworks in what was a major blow for the local economy.

And in that decade, the Teesside skyline has been changed forever after a series of explosive demolitions brought down the SSI site and marked the end of Teesside’s steel-making history.

The land is now completely unrecognisable, with a solid iron structure now all that remains of the blast furnace as other developments make new ground.

These include SeAH Wind's £300m Teesside factory, which is now up, and the NZT Power gas-fired power station, where work is just getting underway.

On a tour of the site with The Northern Echo, Mayor Houchen spoke about the future of Teesworks, the “huge interest” from international investors, and how artificial intelligence might come into play.

Teesside will always have a deep rooted connection with steel. But, ten years is a long time, and many of the industries that once dominated the country are no longer.

Mayor Houchen said there’s now a diversification and people “don't have that same paternalistic association with the steelworks that our fathers and grandfathers had before us.”

There are new industries like AI on the rise, with Teesside even recently being tipped to become an AI Growth Zone by the Government.

The planned data centre at Teesworks(Image: Lichfields/Teesworks. Free for use for all LDRS partners.)

Peter Kyle, who until last month’s cabinet shake up was the Secretary of State at the Department of........

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