ONE of the region's leading recycling businesses, is investing more than £250,000 in a regeneration project that will bring one of the area’s oldest industrial and residential sites back into use.

The site at Port Clarence is undergoing a programme of works to prepare the site for future commercial and industrial use and support the continued regeneration of this part of Teesside.

The 22-acre Scott Bros-owned site on the North Bank of the Tees close to the Transporter Bridge, is the former location of one of Teesside’s most iconic companies, Bell Bros., which established its Iron Works in Port Clarence in 1853.

The growth of the works led to the building several hundred houses in the area, a number of which are now buried under the disused site. All that remains on view are a group of chimney stacks from the original development.

Scott Bros. is using reclaimed materials including clay and soil, in additional to removing waste that can be processed for recycling for other purposes, to ensure the site is in a position for future development.

It currently has a team of six people working on the site in a programme that will last 12 months.

Bob Borthwick, Commercial Manager at Scott Bros., said: “This is an exciting development for Scott Bros. as it will breathe new life into one of Teesside’s most historically significant industrial sites. It is woven into the history of the area and this project will help write a new chapter for the site.”

“The investments that has been made in this area, particularly in the biomass, pharmaceutical and offshore energy sectors, demonstrate there is an appetite for high quality and well-connected sites like this. It is in a prime location to support both current and future developments on Teesside and will enable us to build on this area’s impressive industrial legacy.”