South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) has approved proposals to formalise its loan arrangements with Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), providing clearer governance, financial transparency and long-term certainty for the continued regeneration of Teesworks.

The proposals were unanimously approved by the STDC Board at its meeting on 10 September 2026, following consideration by Tees Valley Combined Authority Cabinet on 31 July 2026 in its capacity as STDC’s lender. The approval enables STDC officers to finalise and execute formal loan agreements covering the borrowing arrangements between TVCA and STDC.

The agreements will document repayment obligations, interest arrangements, monitoring requirements, information rights and lender protections between TVCA and STDC, building on the funding arrangements that have supported the transformation of the former SSI steelworks site since STDC was established.

The original business case for the South Tees regeneration programme, approved by Government, was based on a model where business rates generated within the Special Economic Area would be retained locally over a 25-year period to fund the cost of upfront borrowing.

With 19 years of the retention agreement remaining, the level of borrowing remains consistent with the framework originally agreed by Government.

Since its creation, STDC has received funding from TVCA to acquire, remediate and prepare land for investment, develop critical infrastructure and unlock economic growth opportunities across Teesworks.

The approved agreements bring existing borrowing arrangements into a formal documented framework, while preserving clear repayment principles and governance controls between TVCA as lender and STDC as borrower.

The new arrangements formalise the repayment principles and governance controls that have supported the funding relationship between TVCA and STDC to date.

Repayments will be supported through the long-term income generated by the Teesworks regeneration programme, including retained business rates, commercial income, project revenues and capital receipts.

The projected income is underpinned by progress across the Teesworks site, including its growing occupier base, operational assets, committed investment and long-term contractual arrangements.

STDC Chair David Smith said: “Formalising these arrangements is an important step in strengthening STDC’s governance and providing clear documentation around the borrowing that has helped enable progress across Teesworks.

“The regeneration of the former steelworks site was always intended to be supported through long-term investment, with borrowing repaid from the economic growth generated on the site. These agreements put that framework on a clear, transparent and robust footing as development continues.”

The approval marks another milestone in the redevelopment of Teesworks, supporting the continued delivery of one of the UK’s largest industrial regeneration projects and helping create the conditions for future investment, jobs and economic growth across Teesside.