Latest news with #AlecBrown
The Irish Sun
17-05-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Britain's ‘cheapest seaside town' set for shipping container VILLAGE and new ‘beach base' in huge £25m revamp
THE UK's 'cheapest seaside town' is set to undergo a £25 million makeover, including a "shipping container village." The north Yorkshire town, where homes sell for just £20,000, was allocated the huge sum by the Tory government four years ago, with all projects set to be completed by next year. 2 Redcar is getting a £25 million revamp Credit: NNP 2 The town is the cheapest seaside resort in the UK to buy property Credit: NNP Amongst the exciting new projects coming to Redcar, is a new family entertainment centre events space and state of the art town library, on which £17.4 million is being spent. In order to make way for the new facility, the former M&S and Goodwins buildings are being demolished, with work reportedly nearing completion. Unfortunately, due to high inflation Catherine Clennett, who chairs the Redcar Town Deal board has revealed that some planned projects have had to be scrapped, in order to cut costs. One project that will no longer be taking place is the painting of houses on Newcomen Terrace in bright pastel colours, to give the road a 'Balamory' feel. Read more UK news stories However, it is hoped that funding may become available for this and other projects in the future . In an annual report published on behalf of the board, it was revealed that the family entertainment centre should be completed by early 2026. The report read: "The venue will attract residents and visitors into Redcar town centre all year round, significantly increasing the number of people using the area. 'This will, in turn, increase business for the many town centre shops and other organisations and add a new dimension to the area to enhance the retail offer.' Most read in The Sun A total of £2.4 million of the funding has also been used to create a 'clean energy education hub' which will provide young people with the skills to gain work opportunities at Teesworks, the UK's largest industrial zone. A new shipping container village, described in the report as a "beach base" received £880,000 of the funding and opened last August. BBC's The Mighty Redcar shows what life is like for young people in the town The 'village' has plenty of food and drink opportunities and is also intended to be a hub for watersports. Another £4.9 million is being spent on giving the town clock, which sits at the end of the high street a "major facelift." The revamp will include new paving, stylish seating and the addition of plants and trees to the area. Councillor Alec Brown, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council , who is on the Town Deal board, said: 'We all want to see a fantastic Redcar for the future which provides families with a better quality of life and the Town Deal projects will help provide this.' Cumberland Council has revealed its latest plans for the Port of Workington, just a few miles from the These include millions of pounds worth of investment into real estate, infrastructure and roads. Leader of the council, Councillor Mark Fryer, said: 'The Port of Workington can be a catalyst for growth in Cumberland; it is a strategic location in west Cumbria with a huge amount of untapped potential for job creation, green energy production and more. 'Want to partner with other organisations and the private sector to help unlock the potential for this site and we're actively talking to parties at the moment to bring in that crucial investment " A huge amount of work has already been done, or is underway, to improve vital infrastructure at the port and we believe it is ideally placed for the right businesses to come on board. "If you are a business who is interested, come and talk to us.'
BBC News
06-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Scrapping of Teesside hydrogen plant plans 'disappointing'
BP's announcement that it had dropped plans for a "green" hydrogen plant has been described as "bitterly disappointing". The multinational had previously sought planning permission to build a power plant in Redcar, which would have produced hydrogen by breaking down water using as part of a shift in strategy away from renewables, the firm has now scrapped the scheme. Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Alec Brown, said that despite the "blow", BP remained committed to "innovative projects" in the region. BP had previously said the construction of HyGreen would create up to 500 jobs with the likelihood the "majority" would be taken by people living in the Middlesbrough and Stockton electricity used at the plant would have mainly been derived from low carbon sources and the hydrogen would have been used by firm said it would now be focusing on other projects in the area including Net Zero Teesside and a blue hydrogen plant. 'Decarbonisation blow' Brown said: "This is bitterly disappointing news - but we remain optimistic about the future."He said his administration would support all those, including BP, working on green energy projects in the region. Brown also said these schemes would "help secure jobs" and have "huge potential".Prof Sara Walker, who is leading a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) project into the integration of hydrogen into the wider energy landscape, said the news was a "blow to the decarbonisation of Teesside and to the overall development of green hydrogen in the UK".However, she said that the government had backed another green hydrogen project in Teesside, developed by EDF. Tees Valley Mayor Houchen said the combined authority had seen "incredible progress" in its plan to develop Teesside as a "global centre for green energy" and there remained "huge interest" from investors. But he did not provide a comment on BP scrapping a scheme he had previously described as a "coup for the region" that would create "well-paid, good quality jobs". Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
