Middlesbrough's Development Corporation launched

The Middlesbrough Development Corporation has launched today with a commitment to turbocharge development in the town.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston addressed business leaders and key stakeholders setting out their vision for the future at the former Peacocks store which has been taken over by e-gaming venue The Wired Lobby. The proposals will capitalise on the £106m investment already being made in the town centre, Middlehaven and the historic quarter.

The cash is funding projects such as Boho X, Middlesbrough Station improvements and the Centre Square offices. Mr Houchen said:

“We have funded huge schemes across Middlesbrough to boost transport, education, business investment and infrastructure but, until now, there have never been plans to draw these together to supercharge the town and make it much, much more than the sum of its parts.

“This announcement is about more than just bricks and mortar, though. The Development Corporation will sit at the heart of the town, growing it as a place and transforming the culture to make the streets safer and cleaner. We want to create a town where young people want to live and study and businesses will flock to.”

"Big news for the full region."

This will be the third mayoral corporation in Teesside after Teesworks and a recently-agreed deal in Hartlepool.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Preston said:

"A mayoral development corporation for central Middlesbrough is big news for the full region. It will fast-track all of the ambition, all of the dreams that we have to create the right kind of places to live, the right kind of leisure amenities, and the right kind of places to work.

“It’s going to make central Middlesbrough bigger, stronger, safer, and every single person in the whole of Teesside is going to benefit.” The plans will not come at any extra cost to the taxpayer or impact council tax rates

When asked why Mr Houchen thinks he can be the one to regenerate Middlehaven, an area that has struggled to turn its fortunes around, he said:

“Maybe I have an overinflated view of my abilities. To be fair, I just think that nobody has really got to grips with it in a commercial sense. It’s been left to the council for too long who are stretched in other areas and don’t really understand as well as they possibly could what the private sector are wanting.

“Especially, in a changing world where town centres and towns are not what they were ten years ago and they are changing even more quickly, they won’t be what they are today in ten years’ time. I think a development corporation that is flexible, very quick to react, and commercial will be able to capture that and deliver the things that everybody has wanted.”

‘Councils are riddled with politics, bureaucracy and fear’

A submission will be made to the government by the end of July and it is hoped that it will be established by the end of October. Once it’s up and running, it will be able to borrow money and implement compulsory purchase orders while most of the public land in the area will be transferred over to it.

Both Mr Preston and Mr Houchen said that it would speed up development, with the latter saying that there should be spades in the ground on the first projects next year. Mr Preston said:

“Councils are riddled with politics, bureaucracy and fear, by the way, that’s not a criticism of the staff, that’s just the way councils are.

“Despite the heroic efforts of staff and the hours they put in, progress is really slow, we need to turbocharge it if we are to fight this problem head-on, we need to turbocharge what we are doing, we need to electrify it and do it differently. We need to overcome the politics and the fear and the bureaucracy.”

He went on to add:

“It will overcome the problems councils face when they become bogged down in petty party politics and pointless red tape, it will circumvent a lot of that. It will have the ability to do more, do it faster and do it better.”

There have been previous discussions about an arena in the Middlehaven Docks area at the site of the failed snow centre. When asked about whether this would form part of the plans, Mr Preston added:

“Nothing is off the table. I won’t promise one specific thing, but nothing is off the table, the opportunities are massive.”

‘This is levelling up in action’

Simon Clarke, Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, has congratulated Mr Houchen and Mr Preston on the initiative.

He added:

“By being able to act boldly with a less risk-averse attitude towards investment, the Development Corporation will be well placed to get real results for Middlesbrough – and fast.

“Coming on top of the £88 million that’s been invested in Middlesbrough so far and the £36 million from the Towns Fund and the Future High Street Fund, this is Government enabling targeted investment by directly elected Mayors – this is levelling up in action.”

Geoff Hogg, chief executive of Chaloner Group, which delivered the TeesAMP development and was in attendance, said that this showed a signal of intent for Middlesbrough. He added:

“This is an exciting time for Tees Valley, and Middlesbrough has a vital role to play in helping to attract new investment to the region. This development corporation will be fundamental to its success.”

There was one notable absence from the launch event, Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald, who has said that he was not invited. He added:

“As the MP for the town, I’m disappointed that I have not been given any information about this by either the Mayor of the Tees Valley or of Middlesbrough. Sadly, it’s entirely consistent with the way in which they conduct themselves and go about public business. The claims of inclusivity are totally worthless.”

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