A CANDIDATE hoping to become the first Tees Valley Mayor has pledged to create new jobs on the site of a collapsed steel works.

Sue Jeffrey, Labour’s candidate in next month’s election, has promised to speed up the regeneration of the SSI plant in Redcar if elected on May 4.

The site has stood empty since SSI went into liquidation 18 months ago - a move that resulted in thousands of job losses.

Concerns remain about how much it will cost to clean-up the site, but Ms Jeffrey has pledged to complete the transformation within the next three years, in time for the next Tees Valley Mayor election in 2020.

“Over the last year, I have visited too many redundant industrial sites where it has taken 20 to 30 years to make any significant progress.

“By the end of my first term, I will have created jobs on the site – not jobs shifted from somewhere else in the Tees Valley, but genuine new jobs backed by new money, employing local people.

“Our industry has been the reason for our success in the past and I intent to make it the focus of our success in the future.”

Ms Jeffrey, who is also the leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, made the announcement as she launched her manifesto at TTE Technical Training Group in Middlesbrough yesterday.

She said the Tees Valley stands at the “start of a new era” which will define the region “for a generation.”

“You cannot even put in a cattle grid in England without getting permission from the secretary of state first.

“We are in a unique position to take a giant leap forward and seize the opportunity of devolution.”

Ms Jeffrey focused her manifesto on creating jobs, regeneration, and investing in transport - particularly bus routes across the region.

“I intend to see our airport revived and I want to see out public transport system joined up as a Tees Valley metro system, but first I want to get the basics right.”

Ms Jeffrey also criticised other candidates in the election for offering “gimmicks, slogans and wild promises”.

“The manifesto I put before you today is a promise to create jobs – it is that simple,” she said.

Steve Grant, managing director at TTE, said: “For the democratic process, there is a real need for young people to be aware of the Tees Valley Mayor election.

“A big part of the manifesto is to support engineering skills and helping people from here get jobs in the local area – we need someone to develop this.”

Ms Jeffrey is standing alongside Conservative candidate Ben Houchen, Liberal Democrat’s Chris Foote Wood and UKIP’s John Tennant.

The election takes place on May 4.

See tomorrow’s Northern Echo for an in depth interview with Sue Jeffrey.