Local visit – Rishi Sunak recently visited the National Horizons Centre in Darlington .
Down time – Rishi Sunak and his family , wife Akshata and daughters Krishna and Anoushka ( below ), have spent many a weekend at Stockton ’ s Clip ‘ n Climb .
“ We ’ re also upgrading important transport infrastructure across the Tees Valley , including £ 310m to transform local transport networks for schemes such as upgrading Middlesbrough and Darlington stations and improving rail links ,” he adds .
“ We ’ re also making the streets of Tees Valley safer , with more than 800 extra police officers patrolling the streets of the North-East .”
No one will be surprised that it ’ s not long before a Conservative prime minister showers praise on a Conservative elected mayor .
“ We ’ re delivering all this alongside Ben Houchen , who is a fantastic Conservative local champion for the area , and someone who is delivering real change on the ground for the people of the Tees Valley ,” he says . So , how closely does he work with the mayor ? “ My team and I work closely with Ben on all his priorities , which are designed to level up Teesside . In November , I had the benefit of catching up with Ben and working alongside him from our new government campus in Darlington .
“ We will continue to work together to maximise the benefits of the freeport and bring the best of innovation and global connectivity to the region .”
Of course , Mr Houchen ’ s tenure as Tees Valley mayor will always be synonymous with the fortunes of Teesside International Airport , given that he made bringing it back into public ownership and restoring its old name a core part of his election campaign before first becoming mayor in May 2017 .
In December 2018 , he announced a £ 40m deal to buy the airport from the Peel Group and the acquisition was unanimously approved by the Tees Valley Combined Authority the following January .
The airport has been a source of huge political debate ever since , with critics insisting the finances don ’ t add up and it ’ s a waste of public money , but the prime minister is
26 | Tees Business