FEATURE
Aiming high - Ben Houchen says his focus is set on the Tees region ' s future success .
politician . It was to affect change and , irrespective of whether I come from the area , Teesside needs and deserves to be supported .”
There ’ s been renewed speculation lately that Elon Musk is looking to bring a Tesla Gigafactory to the UK , and Mr Houchen hasn ’ t been slow to promote the possibility of it coming to Teesside , with a “ shy bairns get nowt ” message to the billionaire entrepreneur .
“ The fact that people are talking openly about Elon Musk in connection with Teesside creates a buzz that makes other investors wonder about coming here . Whatever happens , it ’ s a good thing because it underlines our ambition ,” he says .
But what about the smaller fry – the SMEs which provide 99 per cent of jobs in the Tees Valley ?
“ You can ’ t provide financial support for every SME , but we can show confidence in them by trying to give them as many contracts as possible on the work we do ,” he replies . “ Ninety-two per cent of the contracts that have come out the airport have been within a 20-mile radius – the furthest away was Ferryhill .”
He also makes it clear that the abolition of business rates is on his agenda , describing them as “ an outdated mode of taxation ”.
“ It ’ s a fundamental issue that has to be tackled because it doesn ’ t work in a post-Covid world . I ’ m speaking to the government about replacing them with a different type of taxation that doesn ’ t penalise businesses and gives the high street a chance of competing with online retailers .”
So , with Mr Houchen having a direct line and strong relationship with the chancellor , it would seem a clear case of “ watch this space ” on business rates .
However , it ’ s perhaps inevitable that the interview goes full circle and we return to the big fish at the end .
Asked if there ’ s anything in the wings that he can exclusively reveal to Tees Business ( shy bairns get nowt , after all ) he responds with a smile : “ Well , there ’ s something we ’ re trying to pull together that might come off , and it might not ,” he says , refusing to go into detail .
“ If it does , it would be on a totally different level to buying the airport , so we ’ ve got to give it a go . This is Teesside ’ s time , and we have to make sure it doesn ’ t pass us by .”
Outside , by the river , Stephen is smiling too , and eager to report that he ’ s caught a perch . “ Me biggest one yet ,” he shouts with a thumbs up .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 27