A NORTH-EAST MP has called on the new government to fulfil it’s commitments to an abandoned steelworks site and turbocharge regeneration work.

Redcar MP Anna Turley has sent a letter to new Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom urgeing the minister to put the regeneration of the SSI site at the top of the new government's agenda and to honour commitments for central government to pay the full clean-up costs.

In the letter, Ms Turley said: "The South Tees Development Corporation received just £5m in the 2017 Budget and a further £14m in the 2018 Budget, which were welcome contributions for short term projects but this does not come close to the estimated £200m we need to transform the site to be ready for new industry.

"I am determined that it should not be left to local people in my area to pay for the clean-up and I am equally aware that the private sector will not take risks on a site like this unless it has had sufficient assurances and guarantees from government and that the site is ready for their investment.

"The potential for new industries and the creation of skilled jobs here is extremely positive, as we focus our efforts on the future and recovering from the disastrous hard closure. Land ownership remains a significant barrier to realising those ambitions but a compulsory purchase is now underway and will be some time from completion.

"As one of the biggest investment opportunities in the UK right now, and at a time when the ongoing competitiveness of our nation’s economy is of paramount importance, the site should be high on the government’s agenda and I am writing to ensure that is the case.

"I urge you to honour the commitments made by the government at the time of the steelworks closure to meet the full costs of cleaning up the site and I ask that you use every lever at your government’s disposal to ensure we can deliver Teesside’s full potential and create thousands of jobs. I would welcome the opportunity to meet to discuss this further."

More than 2,000 jobs were lost when SSI collapsed in 2015.

Almost four years have passed since the steelworks closed, and so far central government has granted £137m towards the site's regeneration project.