The North has held the longstanding stigma that its people and communities are friendly, hard working and robust, but enterprise, innovation and a lack of drive for bigger and better from our leaders and local authorities have stunted our growth and our ability to keep up with other areas of development across the UK
It seems though that some of our local authorities seem to be stepping up to the mark, and pioneering change as serious investment, regeneration and development continues to roll out across the North, with Teesside certainly hitting the headlines for its heightened activity.
The ambitious Tees Valley Investment Plan outlines how £1.2billion will be spent on business growth, transport, culture, and job creation by 2029. Recent news like this from the Tees Valley Combined Authority has catapulted the area into the spotlight, however, a steady foundation for this process started when The Tees Valley Combined Authority was established back in 2016 with the purpose to drive economic growth and job creation in the area. A partnership of five authorities; Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton on-Tees, was formed with the aim to work in partnership with the Local Enterprise Partnership, wider business community and other partners to make local decisions to support the expanding economy. In 2017, the people of the Tees Valley elected their first Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, who continues to chair the Combined Authority. These steps seemingly became a catalyst for the steady growth in activity in the area for commercial sectors including transport, construction, engineering, energy, education, and trade.
Teeside’s recent redevelopment activity and the heightened publicity which has followed suggests that the Tees Valley Combined Authority could arguably gain a reputation as the poster child for the topical levelling up’ drive from the government. The obvious work which is going into raising the profile of business opportunity in the region will undoubtedly reap the rewards of further significant investment and develop, which will underpin a transformed built environment, better infrastructure and connectivity.
Wynyard Business Park, operated by Northumberland Estates, is attracting global giants such as Amazon will establish a logistics centre in Wynyard, creating 3,000 good quality jobs. The proposed facility will be two million sq ft and will act as a huge investment in the area creating jobs, covering everything from fulfilment staff to HR to finance, business, IT support and engineering.
The recent news of the Teesside Freeport creating more than 18,000 jobs and will provide £3.2 billion boost to the local economy over the next five years supports its ambitious campaign. The Freeport will cover 4,500 acres, the equivalent to 2,550 football pitches, and will be the largest in the in the UK. Teesside was one of only eight chosen from a shortlist of eighteen applicant areas in England bid to become a Freeport. One of the most important considerations, according to the government, was how a Freeport could bring economic opportunities to poorer regions and level up’ the country.
The Freeport will give a boost to the Teesside area through enhancing trade and investments across the UK, boosting the amount of high skilled jobs in the area, as well as increasing innovation and productivity in port regions. Areas given Freeport status within the region will promote a great deal of redevelopment and regeneration across a range of industries in Teesside. Chancellor Rishi Sunak commented on the future of the region; “I see old industrial sites being used to capture and store carbon, vaccines being manufactured, offshore wind turbines creating clean energy for the rest of the country.
I see people optimistic an ambitious for their future. That is the future economy of this country.”
In transport news, Teesside has seized the opportunity to expand its links to bolster its connection to other influential areas across the UK, especially with the international connectivity opportunities which better links to the capital will bring. Loganair has added an extra service from Teesside International Airport to London Heathrow, ensuring that three flights follow the route daily. The commercial officer at Loganair, Kay Ryan commented on the expansion: “There is no doubt that this service will provide the timing necessary to support the business growth the area is experiencing, now and in the future”.
Rail transport has received increased interest and plans for development in recent years. A proposal has been submitted for the redevelopment of Darlington Station, this will improve the frequency and reliability of services as well as connectivity along the East Coast Main Line and to other regional stations. The £100million redevelopment will pave the way for a new platform, entrance, station building and upgrades to its transport links. Ben Houchen, Mayor of Tees Valley commented; “We took a major step closer to our vision, with the submission of the planning application for the station which, when complete, will give people from across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool the more reliable, frequent and faster services that they’ve been crying out for – and that they deserve.”
