Business & Economy
Redcar steelworks plant set for demolition as Teesworks development gathers further pace
September 26, 2022
A fixture of Teesside’s iron and steelmaking past is to be razed to the ground in one of the “largest UK single explosive demolition operations of the past 75 years”.
The Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) plant at Lackenby, near Redcar, will be levelled during the coming weekend (Saturday, October 1).
The mammoth shed is being removed to make way for Teesworks, the scheme overseen by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen that is turning former steelworks land into space for clean energy operators, including wind turbine parts maker SeAH Wind.
Officials say its demise, which comes after months of work to strip its insides and remove associated buildings, will be felled with around 1.6 tonnes of explosives, making it one of the biggest demolitions of its type for three quarters of a century.
When operational, molten iron from the Redcar blast furnace was transported to the BOS plant via brick-lined ‘torpedo’ tubes, where it was refined to produce steel.
Mayor Houchen said: “We’ve already brought down a lot of massive iron and steelmaking structures that remained on the Teesworks site, but this is going to be the biggest demolition yet.
“This is demolishing to deliver – it’s only by bringing old structures down that we can build new opportunity, just as we’ve seen this year with construction beginning on SeAH Wind’s factory.
“We’re unlocking yet more land and making the site an even more attractive prospect for international investors.”
Teesworks bosses previously announced a deal with Circular Fuels to build a factory on the site, with the Net Zero Teesside project another flagship addition.