THE front entrance of Teesworks was officially opened today (Monday).

The £1 million Teesworks gatehouse with a complete revamp was opened.

The entrance includes a new modern gatehouse, car parking areas, bespoke street lighting and modern landscaping to create a welcoming arrival for visitors and international investors.

A purpose-built 3.7-metre-high LED screen has been installed onto the newly decorated bridge as a feature to showcase the capabilities of the industrial zone.

It also includes a new 30-metre digital screen.

The opening of the front entrance comes after Teesworks was announced it would be home to the UK's largest Freeport, GE Renewable Energy creating a facility on the Teesworks site and that the Treasury North will be set up in Darlington.

A new jobs website was also launched today for local people.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to officially open the doors to our brand new gatehouse, which sets the tone for our modern, forward-looking Teesworks site and is sure to wow investors. This is rounding off a fortnight of much-welcomed good news stories for our region, including our successful Freeport bid, the multimillion-pound investment by GE Renewable Energy to set up a wind turbine blade manufacturing facility on our under-development port, and the civil service jobs coming to Darlington, all of which mean more good-quality well paid jobs coming to the region for local people.

"This was funded through the government build back better £4 million for new projects and this was one of those ones. It is the first one to be completed, on the government's scheme. There is a new huge LED screen and a fantastic front door for the site."

Mary Lanigan, Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council said: “This new gatehouse sends another message to business and the wider world that the doors are well and truly open at one of Europe’s biggest and most important industrial zones which is right by a major, deep water industrial port and in the middle of an area with fantastic transport links with a highly skilled workforce.

“The digital screen also sends a message to people right here at home that this is about bringing high quality jobs to our area. The hard work of ourselves and partners of many years to release the huge potential of our area and the skilled, hardworking people of the Tees Valley is starting to pay off. This is about jobs - it's fantastic that in 12 months this has happened. It's about local people and it's about schools and our youngsters - it's a crucial thing we've got here.

"This will welcome people coming in, we can put anything on the digital screen. We can welcome companies. The website is letting our young people know what skills are needed. Teesworks is going to have thousands of jobs - which will get young people ready for apprenticeships - to bring them on site. When we lost SSI it was devastating for our area, this is a new start, not just for youngsters for older people as well, lots of whom would have worked at British Steel."