Surveyors therefore ascribed the site a notional £1 value. Those costs are estimated to be almost half a billion pounds, according to a valuation report seen by The Telegraph. More must be dug out if toxic surprises are found. Safety rules dictate that at the very least the top two metres of earth across the entire 4,500 acres needs to be removed, for instance. The problem was and remains that until a colossal cleanup is completed, the entire development is effectively worthless. Prospective industrial tenants, it was hoped, would be keen to take advantage of the neighbouring Redcar Bulk Terminal – a deep port on the mouth of the Tees Estuary that is one of the most attractive on the east coast of England. Thereafter the private sector would step in, gradually taking the lead in the development. Government grants – almost £250m was made available – would be used to get the scheme off the ground. The plan to rejuvenate the site was supposed to be comparatively simple. “A million percent, not a chance,” he says. He concedes a degree of political “naivety” but insists he would not have done anything differently. The 36-year-old remains defiant, however. He is battling allegations of sweetheart deals with two local businessmen which threaten to sink a Johnson-era golden boy whose political career soared on hopes of “levelling up” the North East. Houchen was undeterred, however, and six years on finds himself star of his own s-show. Him and his adviser Sonia Khan both said: ‘Don't go anywhere near it. “I remember because it’s now Michael Gove’s office. Simply maintaining the site was costing taxpayers £20m a year. Covering an area the size of Gibraltar, the works had been left as a toxic wasteland after almost a century and a half of steelmaking. Javid explained that the site had been the bane of his life since its Thai owners had shuttered the plant in 2015. The vast Teesside Steelworks was ripe for redevelopment, he told the then-local government secretary. Just two weeks after his surprise victory in the Tees Valley in May 2017, the Tory mayor travelled down to Westminster to see Sajid Javid with his grand plan for the region. Musk's chaotic approach to moderation and verification has turned news organizations cold – despite those organizations being at the heart of Twitter.Ben Houchen can’t say he wasn’t warned. The outsized influence of Musk will put pressure on arguably the most important matter: deciding what Twitter actually is. Despite relinquishing CEO duties, he plans on retaining control as executive chair and chief technology officer. The billionaire's shift towards a "hardcore" culture at the company did not sit well with many employees. The fourth challenge, of course, is Musk himself. One egregious slip of the tongue from Carlson or any potential guests on his new Twitter show could see users – and lucrative ad execs – flocking towards any number of other tweeting alternatives. Newsletter platform Substack, meanwhile, has launched a Twitter-style feature called Notes, while earning a following from former Musk confidants such as journalist Matt Taibbi.įor Twitter's new CEO, the threat these platforms pose is very real. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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