Progress – Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen in his TVCA office .
GETTING THINGS
DONE
Mayor hails ‘ incredible ’ Tees Valley progress – and vows there ’ s more to come
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
8
When elected six years ago , Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen had a list of things on his “ to do ” list – but were they feasible ?
Fast forward to 2023 and it ’ s mission accomplished for his two flagship projects – buy back Teesside Airport and start redeveloping the sprawling old Redcar steelworks site .
And as he chats over a hurried lunch – he was discussing major investment deals this morning and has a radio interview after our meeting – it ’ s clear that life as the Tees Valley ’ s democratically elected mayor shows no signs of slowing down .
But that ’ s not surprising , given the scale and number of projects that are now transforming a region long renowned for its ability to innovate , adapt and graft .
Take the airport , for example . We ’ re speaking just days after it was shortlisted for an “ Airport of the Year ” title – remarkable , really , when you consider that just before Covid , annual passenger numbers had fallen to a record low of 110,000 .
Thanks to teamwork and a determination to put the customer first , Teesside is flying again – literally . Passenger numbers are at a 10-year high , with a projected 215,000 and growing , airlines such as Ryanair have returned , a major new cargo facility has opened , companies like Willis Aviation are investing heavily , bringing a range of jobs – and Teesside International was even the first UK airport to introduce new hi-tech scanners that mean liquids and laptops need no longer be removed from bags and cases .
Even the finances are looking up . Mr Houchen , talking in the smart Tees Valley Combined Authority offices at the airport , explained : “ Thanks to the fantastic team , we ’ re showing you can develop a regional airport in a sustainable way .
“ The accounts will show we ’ re bang on track to get it back into profit , hopefully in the next 12 to 18 months . That would mean we ’ re slightly ahead of schedule but there are some quite big investments coming along which , if we can get them over the line , will probably accelerate that .