Work to decontaminate the former Redcar steelworks – now Teesworks – is almost complete and the hazardous substances status on the huge industrial site could be removed by the end of the year.

The bill for the work to date amounts to £70m, money which will come from the public purse, although a spokesman said the spend would be offset by the estimated £16m to £20m a year saving arising from required and ongoing maintenance on the site.

A recent update from Julie Gilhespie, who is group chief executive of the South Tees Development Corporation – which has overall responsibility for economically regenerating the site – and the Tees Valley Combined Authority revealed that work to decontaminate some 27 kilometres of coke oven gas main had now been completed.

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She said this was the most significant aspect required in order to free the site from its so-called top tier COMAH (Control of Major Accidents Hazards) status.

COMAH ensures businesses take all necessary safety measures where hazardous substances are concerned, while top tier sites are those where the quantity of dangerous material is deemed to meet the upper threshold of the regulations.

The update said most COMAH substances had been safely disposed of, although some remaining from the demolition of coke oven by-products plants were still in the process of being disposed of.

It said: “The completion of this work will allow for a formal application to the Health and Safety Executive to be submitted to declassify the site and remove the COMAH status.

“We expect this application to be approved by the end of the year.”

The decontamination project has centered on two pipelines that carried gas for the arterial coke ovens and heavy fuel oil across the site in order to power various iron and steel making assets.

This work cost £32m with the contract being procured when the Government previously had control of the South Tees Site Company prior to 2020 – the company being a subsidiary of the development corporation and focused on keeping the former steelworks site safe and removing hazards.

Coke ovens gas was a by-product of coke making and distributed around the site for use as energy in the coke ovens themselves, the blast furnace, steelmaking plant, the sinter plant and the power station on site.

Heavy fuel oil was utilised as a secondary fuel source for the power station and also in the blast furnace at one time.

Meanwhile, decontaminating by-products plants linked to the South Bank and Redcar coke ovens, which converted coal to coke for use in the steelworks blast furnace, has cost a total of £32m.

And further localised pipelines situated near and around former steelworks infrastructure that were demolished have been decontaminated with materials disposed of – this costing £6m.

Four firms have been involved – Altrad, which was responsible for the Government-commissioned contract, Keltbray, Erith and MGL.

The spokesman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Removal of the COMAH status will mean Teesworks will no longer be governed by the COMAH regulations.

 “This will result in the primary legislation being the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) and other regulations. Currently, both CDM and COMAH are adhered to, which presents a unique situation both challenging and time consuming when it comes to reporting and inspecting. 

“However, a change from COMAH to CDM being the primary legislation will not result in a marked difference from a health and safety perspective, while also opening the door to more future developments given the COMAH constraints placed on planning applications.”

He added: “Everything we do is in line with UK regulations. 

“All works on the site in relation to demolition and decontamination are reviewed and approved by the Health and Safety Executive prior to any works commencing. 

“This will give the public confidence in knowing work is done to the highest standards.”

The LDRS asked if any land had been decontaminated with the spokesman stating that “very little contamination has been found in land that has been remediated so far on the site”.

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The former steelworks site also maintains formal consent in planning terms to store hazardous substances, although Redcar and Cleveland Council – as the local planning authority – intends to make an application to revoke this, something that could only be confirmed by the secretary of state, with remaining infrastructure at the site now having been removed or deemed redundant.

It is hoped Teesworks, considered the UK’s biggest industrial zone, will eventually create thousands of new jobs from firms moving onto the site.

It is currently the subject of an investigation into allegations of corruption, illegality and wrongdoing, alongside governance and financial management, a three-person panel having been appointed earlier this year by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove following claims of private sector partners hugely profiting from the sale of land.

These have been dismissed by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who is the chairman of the development corporation.