About the Tees Estuary Nature Recovery Partnership
The Tees Estuary Nature Recovery Partnership works to restore nature for the benefit of wildlife and people. By 2050, the vision is for the Tees Estuary to be a landscape where:
-
nature, people and industry all thrive together,
-
nature is fully integrated into daily life across work, leisure, education and community spaces.
The partnership seeks to enhance a diverse, dynamic and well connected landscape and seascape with increasing biodiversity, stronger species recovery and improved resilience to climate change. This work will also support community health and wellbeing through better access to nature and support sustainable development aligned with regional Net Zero ambitions.
Collaboration:
The NRP is the current iteration of an estuary partnership at the Tees, borne out of ongoing dialogue and conversation with organisations delivering nature recovery on the ground. There is a deep acknowledgement from partnership members that over the past three decades, long-term nature conservation and nature restoration work has taken place across the estuary, with the majority of NRP partners, alongside other organisations such as INCA, playing a significant role to achieve big wins for important estuarine habitats and species.
Landscape Scale:
The Tees Estuary Nature Recovery Partnership is committed to delivering a landscape-scale, collaborative approach to nature recovery and how this can benefit the Tees estuary. Larger connected landscapes and seascapes create ‘nature networks’ that help reverse biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems, provide space for species to thrive, move and adapt, whilst strengthening climate resilience.
Adding Value:
To achieve ambitions for nature recovery across the Tees Estuary, the partnership adds value to existing activity by connecting efforts, filling gaps and enabling a “bigger, better and more joined-up” approach. It provides a shared forum for collaboration, innovation and collective action across organisations and sectors.
Supporting Regional Strategies:
The partnership will support key regional strategies, being a delivery mechanism for the incoming Tees Valley Local Nature Recovery Strategy and helping co-develop solutions to pressures on protected sites through the Tees Protected Sites Strategy.
People
A guided group seal watching at Seal Sands © NATURAL ENGLAND
Approximately 680,000 people live across the Tees Valley, with 396,500 living downstream of the Tees Barrage around Teesmouth. With four of the five major urban conurbations directly bordering the estuary, key long and connected strategic recreational routes, public footpaths and cycleways create opportunity to access the coast and open green spaces found here. Community enjoyment and stewardship of the estuary can be found in many guises including sea swimming, artists clusters, dive clubs, litter picking groups, walkers, beach users, bird watching, cetacean spotting, to name a few.
Nature
Harbour seals and grey seals hauled out on a sand bank © NATURAL ENGLAND
Nature at the Tees estuary is special. In recognition of the nationally and internationally important habitats and wildlife found here, the estuary is designated for nature via the Teesmouth & Cleveland Coast SSSI, SPA and Ramsar. The estuary is a mosaic of important geology and habitats including coastal dune systems, coastal and flood plain grazing marsh, mudflats, saltmarsh, saline lagoons, reedbeds and wetlands, and deciduous woodland. Many priority species are found at the estuary; from the settled Harbour Seal colony at Seal Sands, the summer visiting Little Tern breeding colony and nesting site at Seaton Carew beach, assemblages of 20,000+ over-wintering coastal birds, through to the rare, dune-dwelling, Bend Bearing Blunt Brow Spider, measuring in at a tiny 1.4mm-1.6mm long! Visitors to the estuary can glimpse some of England’s best nature - although you might need to bring along some binoculars (or a magnifying glass!) for better viewing.
Place
The old Wilton steelworks site viewed from South Gare SSSI © DVANDENTOORN/TOORNDESIGNS
The Tees is a home for industry, economic growth, farming, culture, heritage and the arts. For generations, the estuary has played a central role in Britain’s maritime history and as an industrial powerhouse for iron, steel and shipbuilding. Today, it remains one of the UK’s most important industrial regions and is at the forefront of driving the nation’s transition to green energy to meet the UK Government’s ambitions for Net Zero. Currently, just over half of the UK’s gas and oil pipelines land into the estuary, and local industries produce a significant share of the nation’s petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals—all contributing to the Tees Valley economy. The estuary hosts 26-miles of the King Charles III England Coast Path, a national trail enabling communities and visitors to connect with the coast and adjoining natural and industrial landscapes. Additional public rights of way intertwine the significant and diverse natural, built and cultural heritage of the Tees that dates as far back as the Bronze age (c.1200b.c.).
Thriving Together
Reframing the Tees infographic © NATURAL ENGLAND
One of the central hopes of the Tees Estuary Nature Recovery Partnership is for people, place and nature to thrive together in equilibrium now and for future generations. Historically this has fluctuated, often as the needs of nature, industry and communities compete with each other. However, there are big shifts towards joining up ambitions across the region so that all can benefit.
What makes the Tees so special?
The Tees Estuary is a place like no other. A landscape of coastal towns, workplaces, heritage landmarks and hidden cultural gems. Its industrial backdrop is an established part of scenery, telling stories of innovation, engineering and of the region’s contribution to the industrial revolution. In places, the unusual and protected conditions within industrial sites have given homes to wildlife that may have otherwise been lost. Vibrant, full of character and rich with contrasts, the estuary brings together bustling industry, diverse wildlife and proud coastal communities along the Northeast coast of England.
Nature recovery at the heart of the Tees
In delivering nature recovery that will benefit people, place and nature at the Tees estuary, the partnership has three key delivery objectives:
-
Drive delivery of a nature recovery network at the Tees Estuary as a regional contribution to the UK governments commitment to the international agreement to protect 30% of land and of sea by 2030.
-
Deliver investment opportunities for green finance and investment in the natural environment at the Tees Estuary.
-
Connecting people with nature: improving access to nature for people who live by, work in and visit the Tees Estuary.
Combined, these will contribute to:
-
Creating new and restoring existing priority habitats
-
Creating more joined up space for nature so that wildlife can thrive
-
Improving the condition of designated sites and contribute towards a move into favourable condition for degraded features.
-
Halting the decline in species abundance and promoting species recovery for keystone / priority species and for regionally important species.
-
Improvements in water quality and air quality
-
Strengthening resilience to climate change
-
Improving access to nature for people who live in, work in or visit the Tees Estuary
Investing in nature recovery at the Tees Estuary
A Funding Strategy for the Tees Estuary and portfolio of current investment opportunities has been developed by the Partnership. For more information, please get in touch using the contact link at the bottom of the page.
Get the latest Tees Estuary News
Tees Estuary NRP
Introducing the Official Home for the Tees Estuary Nature Recovery Partnership
30 March 2026
Tees Estuary Nature Recovery Partners
At the heart of the Tees Estuary Nature Recovery Partnership is a conviction that landscape-scale restoration requires a collaborative approach, uniting industry, communities, and conservationists to create a resilient environment where nature and people thrive together. By acting as a shared forum for innovation and connecting ongoing, long-term conservation efforts, the partnership delivers a bigger, better, and more joined-up strategy to secure a sustainable future for the estuary.
.png)
