14 | Tees Business
2020 VISION
Now is the time to invest as bold business plan unveiled for Middlesbrough
Elected mayor David Budd and interim chief executive Tony Parkinson have confirmed that Middlesbrough Council will invest £ 74m into a series of exciting developments over the next four years.
Dramatic and ambitious plans to transform Middlesbrough via investments totalling almost £ 700 million have been unveiled by the town’ s Council.
Elected mayor David Budd and interim chief executive Tony Parkinson have confirmed that the Council will invest £ 74m into a series of exciting developments over the next four years.
Middlesbrough’ s Investment Prospectus, which will look to create 5,000 new jobs in the town, will also see the Council target over £ 600m of investment from the private sector and other parts of the public sector by 2020.
The series of developments include a £ 30m snow centre at Middlehaven, 450-bed student village linked to Teesside University, a brand new Media and Innovation Village, Grade A town centre office space and 5,500 new homes.
Parkinson says:“ It doesn’ t always come naturally to the people of this area, but this is a new era of positivity where we need to talk up the place.
“ We have to do that, and the intent is that the rest of world starts to do that too. If we want to attract investment, we certainly need businesses to talk up the area as much as possible.”
The bold plans will transform Middlesbrough into the“ city centre” of the Tees Valley, insists mayor Budd, adding:“ I can’ t remember there ever being as much as this happening in Middlesbrough. It is truly exciting.
“ Nearly all of it will happen in a fairly short space of time and some of it is already happening. There’ s not a massive amount of speculation involved. We’ re raising ambitions and aspirations for the town, its people and our businesses.
“ These plans build on the £ 500m-worth of investments in the town over the last three years or so.
“ The plans represent the next wave of investment on top of that half a billion pounds already spent, some of which was Council money and some of which we facilitated through private investors.”
Those funds have already created a series of new housing developments, the state-of-theart Middlesbrough Sports Village, the £ 10.8m Teesside Advanced Manufacturing Park, hotel developments, enhancements to Teesside
University and Middlesbrough College including the STEM Centre, Acklam Hall, the Baker and Bedford Street regeneration zone, the hugely successful Orange Pip Market and improvements to both Stewart Park and Albert Park.
Parkinson adds:“ Whilst we expect to leverage in over £ 600m of private sector and wider public sector investments, I can confirm that our £ 74m is costed, it’ s in our plan and it’ s within the mayor’ s budget. We’ re not plucking a figure out of thin air- we have budgeted to spend that money.
“ Our money is on the table. But we won’ t be defined by what we don’ t do but by what we do.
“ I’ ll be disappointed if, in five years’ time, the figure’ s not well in excess of £ 600m.”
Both Budd and Parkinson are very clear: Middlesbrough is open for business and those who have invested recently are making the kind of profit they projected. Their challenge to any business interested in exploring the available investment opportunities is quite simply:“ Get in touch, we are here, ready to listen- and deliver flexible and innovative strategies to assist.”
Contact: invest @ middlesbrough. gov. uk