NEWS
WE ’ VE ONLY JUST BEGUN !
Just the ticket – Middlesbrough College students Max Cameron , left , and Alyssa Agaimwonyi launching the £ 1 bus fare deal .
On May 3 , Ben Houchen was re-elected as Tees Valley Mayor for a third term . Here , he sets out his priorities to drive forward the region ’ s business landscape over the next four years .
24 | Tees Business
Over the past seven years , I ’ ve worked hard to kick-start major infrastructure , secure significant investment and enhance and expand key sites .
I ’ ve worked alongside our brilliant businesses , local authorities , university and colleges to establish Teesworks and welcome its projects , backed business growth by creating Grade A office space and research and development facilities and considerably improved our transport network with major station overhauls . And I would argue that was the easy bit ! All we ’ ve achieved so far are the significant interventions that will lay the groundwork for what ’ s to come – a totally transformed Teesside , Darlington and Hartlepool , which will see growth right across the region and not concentrated on these big-ticket items .
We had to lay the building blocks to get us to the start line , but I ’ ll now be turning my attention to our towns , high streets and communities . We ’ re seeing huge opportunities being created in every corner of our boroughs – but reinvigorating our centres is now a major priority . I , alongside the recently established Tees Valley Business Board , will work with our brilliant SMEs in these areas to give them all the help they need to grow like never before .
These will be supercharged in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough thanks to our Mayoral Development Corporations , making it easier than ever to invest and build .
In Hartlepool , work will soon begin to develop the Screen Industries Production Village to boost the existing Northern School of Art and Northern Studios , turning the town into a hotbed of production talent .
We have already taken on Middleton Grange Shopping Centre , which is undergoing vast repairs and improvements to attract more retail and hospitality outlets to the site , as we look at how to best use the space to increase footfall and make it a real asset for the town . This will support our ambitions to grow 2,400 jobs .
In Middlesbrough , the continued plans for Gresham will breathe new life into an otherwise underused part of town ,