AN almost £20m fund to guarantee research and innovation on Teesside will see office and project space created on development land in Redcar.

The Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said a new multi-million-pound programme would now allow a number of infrastructure projects including clean transport, digital technologies and bioscience to continue in the area.

As part of the £19m fund which is being spent over five years, a new bioscience incubator at Central Park in Darlington and office and project space for companies on the South Tees Development Corporation site will be created.

Mr Houchen said: "There is some truly amazing ground-breaking work going on right here in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool, with our highly skilled workers using their expertise in a range of sectors, from clean energy and next-generation manufacturing to bioscience and digital.

“These are the products and processes of the future and are key sectors we need to support, and we as a region are leading the way.

"This investment will help our first-class research and innovation centres expand their work and create jobs in the sectors we are championing.

“Creating the jobs of tomorrow means investing in the right technology today.

"I’m delighted that this funding will support a number of significant projects, helping to put us firmly on the map when it comes to clean industry and innovation.”