Social & Economic Benefits
Woodsmith represents a unique asset for the UK that will drive growth, create high value jobs and generate large-scale exports.
At a local level, we are committed to being a positive part of the community and have already delivered significant benefits in the area. This includes creating jobs and working with local businesses in our supply chain, social investment in our Thriving Communities Programme and the Woodsmith Foundation, as well as our payments to the planning authorities as part of our existing permissions.
We will continue with this activity throughout construction and during operations.
The Economic Impact Report, included as part of the application, sets out the benefits delivered to date and forecasts the future benefits for the remainder of construction and into operations. See highlights below.
Construction benefits to date
1,000 people currently working on the Woodsmith Project (peak of 2,200) with 76% of the current workforce from the local area
2,800
indirect jobs
£1.94 billion added to the regional economy of Yorkshire and the North East since construction started
Supply chain expenditure in the region of £452m since 2022
Future construction benefits from 2026
2,650
peak direct construction jobs
2,840
indirect jobs
Operational benefits
1,150 long-term operational roles (target a minimum 80% local)
£1.7bn contribution to UK GDP every year
3,800
indirect jobs
£2.3bn of exports annually, helping reduce the UK trade deficit by c.10%
Thriving Communities Programme
Since it started in 2021, the programme has:
Engaged over 37,000 students to promote science, technology, engineering and maths careers events and support the STEM curriculum
Engaged over 1,500 people to develop their skills
Launched Achieve, an ambitious education programme that aims to support disadvantaged students to reach their potential
Created 183 new business start-ups, and supported 1,900 existing businesses
Supported the emotional wellbeing of over 200 young people through our Turning Tides programme
Delivered over 200 projects to support the community environment and facilities
Woodsmith Foundation
The Woodsmith Foundation was established to create a positive long-term legacy for boroughs of Scarborough, Redcar and Cleveland and the North York Moors National Park.
The priority for the Foundation is to support local people, communities and community organisations to increase opportunities for better life chances and tackle disadvantage. Since Anglo American acquired the Woodsmith Project in March 2020, the Foundation has received £7million to enable it to support projects that are aligned to its charitable objectives.
To date, it has supported approximately 700 projects, from small grants of £5,000 or less to large projects such as the Achieve education programme, which the Foundation co-funds with Anglo American. Longer term, the Foundation will be funded by receiving a percentage of revenue from the Woodsmith Project, which could amount to approximately £12million per year when the project is at full production.
Planning commitments
As part of our planning permissions, we have already provided funding of over £30m to the North York Moors National Park Authority, North Yorkshire Council and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council for projects that protect and enhance the environment, promote tourism, improve local transport infrastructure, and support education and skills development.