It follows a landmark deal signed by the Tees Valley Mayor to acquire over half of the developable land on the South Tees Development Corporation site from Tata Steel Europe. At 1,420 acres, it represents an area about the size of Gibraltar.

Negotiations to secure the former SSI land had been ongoing since May 2017 with the three banks in Thailand who hold a charge over the SSI UK’s assets; Krung Thai Bank Public Company Limited, The Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited and TISCO Bank Public Company Limited.

Despite numerous attempts to negotiate a transfer, and an offer from the Development Corporation to enter binding arbitration over the land, no formal agreement has been reached to date. However we will seek to continue with negotiations within the CPO framework.

A successful Compulsory Purchase Order will see the ex-SSI steelmaking assets be brought back into public ownership and in control of the Development Corporation.