It aims to create over 50 hectares of mudflats, saltmarsh and other valuable estuarine habitats, as well as reducing flood risk for homes and businesses, by realigning flood defences and removing tidal barriers at sites along the banks of the River Tees.
And one of the key projects will focus specifically on the challenges facing the community of Port Clarence.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council received a £7 million grant from Defra’s Flood and Coastal Resilience Programme to carry out its Tees Tidelands Port Clarence initiative, which will see the creation of a “habitat banking system” to ensure developers meet their Biodiversity Net Gain targets in the area.
As of February 2024,10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) became mandatory on any new development under the Environment Act, aiming to ensure that habitats are left in a better state.
A demonstrator site at Port Clarence will be used as a habitat bank from which developers can purchase “biodiversity credits” to compensate for habitat losses elsewhere in the estuary.
A spokesperson for Tees Environmental Trust told The Teesside Lead: “The demand for Biodiversity Credits on Teesside will enable industry to successfully realise their objectives to recycle the money into further nature conservation and habitat creation projects on Teesside.”
Port Clarence: a community which feels forgotten
Port Clarence has been identified as an “ideal location” for the demonstrator site due to its close proximity to Saltholme nature reserve and the strong links with TET which owns the land.
But it is also hoped that the project will generate interest among the community and improve engagement with flood resilience measures.
According to the Environment Agency, takeup of its flood warning service is extremely low among residents in Port Clarence, with just 39% registered compared to an average of 79% in the north-east as a whole.
“There are a lot of challenges in the area,” says Eckersley. “Broadly speaking, it's a deprived community and that can often go hand-in-hand with less access to green and blue spaces.”
It's on a single bus route and has become increasingly isolated since the Transporter Bridge, which directly linked the area to Middlesbrough, was taken out of operation.
Residents feel disconnected from services and frankly, forgotten about.