A new project is hoping to create seagrass meadows on the Tees for the first time in more than a century, according to local news outlets. The plant, which only grows in seawater, used to exist around the Tees estuary but has not been recorded there since 1906.

Permission has been applied for to create trial growth areas on the southern side of the estuary with sites from Bran Sands to Skinningrove.

A licence application has been made by the Marine Management Organisation via Redcar and Cleveland Council’s planning department for the planting to begin. Called The Tees Seagrass Project, it is a partnership between the Tees Rivers Charitable Trust and The Stronger Shores Project.

According to the documents lodged with the application, the Tees Estuary has lost more than half of its intertidal habitat due to land reclamation and industrial development. Industry has also reshaped the estuary as the years have gone on from a wide semi enclosed bay to a more linear shape – causing the loss of species including seagrass, last recorded there in 1906.

The new project is hoping to reinstate two varieties of seagrass which, it is hoped will provide environmental benefits.

Crustacean die off

Meanwhile, in the same locality the story of the crustacean die-off continues to make news. Both Huck magazine and The Times have covered the story in recent days and have put some focus on the Freeport and its potential role in the saga.