Plans for new transport facilities to support the growing number of vehicles entering the Teesworks site on Teesside have been given the green light by local council officials.

The move, supported by the Newcastle office of national planning and development consultancy Lichfields, will see car and HGV parking areas with a re-fuelling station, bus stops, new access roads, associated facilities and landscaping, developed on a 7.3 ha plot of land north of the A1053/A66 Tees Dock Road roundabout and south of former Lackenby Works.

The Sui Generis Transport Hub will deliver improved parking facilities, offering around 150 articulated HGV parking spaces and 204 car parking spaces for vehicle users. New security fencing with gatehouses controlling onward access into the Lackenby and British Steel sites and a footpath link to enable HGV drivers to gain access to nearby retail and leisure facilities, will also be built, providing an additional boost for transport operators.

Alterations to the Tees Dock roundabout have also been approved, which include a new leg to provide access to the Lackenby development site together with the widening of the current highway to provide an additional lane on the existing carriageways.

The initiative is part of ongoing investment in the transport infrastructure to better serve the increasing number of vehicles using the Teesworks site, and follows funding approved by the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority as part of a £1billion transport vision earlier this year.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has said this is another big step forward as steelmaking returns to Teesside.

'We can now get cracking with this new access road and lorry park paving the way for this huge investment in Teesside that will restore the heart to our industry,' he added. 'We have a record of getting things done and this is another thing ticked off unlocking hundreds of jobs on the site. More investment. More jobs. More progress.'

Neil Westwick, senior director at Lichfields’ Newcastle office, who secured approval for the scheme from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said: 'Planning approval ensures the increasing demands on the site’s infrastructure will be met as British Steel’s new development comes on-line, and more investors move onto the site. It’s part of wider plans to create jobs, investment opportunities and prosperity for Teesside, driving forward the region’s position as a global centre of industrial excellence.'