Global consultancy firm Arup has been appointed to draw up a masterplan for a 300-acre advanced manufacturing park on spare steelworks land, with hopes of creating thousands of jobs.
British Steel is working with North Lincolnshire Council on the development, revealed as the £1.25 billion transformation to electric arc furnace production was announced.
Far less labour-intensive, the move will lead to a significant downsizing of employment, though exact figures have yet to be revealed. Estimates put the figure between 1,500 and 2,000 of the 4,500-strong British Steel workforce. Work on the site in allied areas could help offset the huge hit feared by unions, with the company itself pledging to “support employees affected by the decarbonisation plans”.
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Backed by the government, the proposal is designed to create new development opportunities for businesses to create green jobs in the wider steel and engineering sector, harnessing hydrogen technology and accessing global markets with innovative new products through the vast port complex across the wider area. It comes with a £15 billion decarbonisation portfolio already identified on the Humber.
Cllr Rob Waltham, leader, North Lincolnshire Council, said: “There is a huge opportunity to create something new, attracting innovative technology companies and well-paid jobs here to Scunthorpe on an underdeveloped site of industrial heritage.
“The transition to net zero must be through taking opportunity not managed decline – taking advantage of the green opportunities globally while harnessing our engineering skills and capabilities locally is the future.”
The local authority will take a role in developing the site – with a number of prospective new businesses already looking to invest. Arup will develop the proposals, focussing on design, engineering, architecture and planning.
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British Steel’s chief commercial and procurement officer, Allan Bell, said: “British Steel and our owners, Jingye, are committed to building a sustainable future for our business and the communities in which we operate. Parts of our Scunthorpe site offer excellent development opportunities and we look forward to working in partnership with North Lincolnshire Council to realise this potential.”
British Steel’s site has previously been flagged as a potential engineering logistics hub for the likes of Heathrow’s expansion. It had been placed on a long-list of sites five years ago when plans for a third runway were high on the agenda - pre-Covid.