This Is Tees Valley This Is Tees Valley - Issue 1 2020 | Page 54

£588m investment
plan to transform
Tees economy
ECONOMIC
AMBITION
M
ore than half a billion pounds
of investment by the Tees Valley
mayor and combined authority is
transforming the economy and people’s lives
across the region.
The Tees Valley Investment Plan 2019-29
is a ten-year, £588m outline of investment
priories across a range of areas, to drive
economic growth and create jobs.
One landmark development being
supported by the funding is a £250m project
to establish Middlesbrough as the UK’s
digital city.
Middlesbrough’s Boho Zone is already a
digital and creative hub, home to a cluster of
industry-leading businesses, including top
video game developer and publisher Double
Eleven and Animmersion, a leader in digital
visualisation tools such as virtual reality.
The latest plans will be the biggest single
investment in Middlesbrough’s history.
The bold vision includes building the
highest office and residential towers for 30
miles as part of an initial £45m phase of the
project that will transform Teesside’s skyline
and lead to 1,000 new jobs in the digital and
creative industries, rising to 2,000 jobs in
future phases.
Construction of the first phase, which
will include three 20-storey towers, will
start in summer 2020 and create up to 400
construction jobs. It will see the creation
of a digital campus, a 750-seat indoor
amphitheatre beneath a glass atrium and
a 400-seat outdoor amphitheatre to host
events such as lectures, cultural events and
entertainment.
The £30m office development is being
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jointly funded by the Tees Valley mayor and
combined authority and Middlesbrough
Council. This includes £26.5m from the
£588m investment fund. The council will
contribute £3.5m, with a further £15m
investment in residential accommodation by
a third-party consortium.
The investment plan also includes £20m
for a major transformational project based
in the other four Tees Valley boroughs
– Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-
Tees and Redcar and Cleveland – plus
an Indigenous Growth Fund of £50m
to improve and revitalise towns and
communities.
It sets out how the economy will be
transformed through major investments
across six key themes – transport; education,
employment and skills; business growth;
culture and tourism; research, development
and innovation and investment in our towns
and communities.
A reliable, fast, high-quality transport
network is central to the Tees Valley’s
ambitions. That's why more than £256m
has been earmarked for priorities covering
all modes of transport, including road, rail,
freight, air, public transport and sustainable
travel, to make sure people and businesses
can access all of the opportunities being
created in the region.
The investment plan has dedicated
£55m to education, employment and
skills to ensure people of all ages reach
their potential and are equipped to
secure rewarding, high-quality careers
in the region. Funding for educational
establishments, careers, adult education and
targeting those most distant from work will
help everyone access employment.
A total of £146m has been set aside
for business growth, supporting the
expansion of existing businesses and the
attraction of new inward investment to the
region. The funding will unlock sites for
business, including land on the South Tees
Development Corporation site.
Culture and tourism in the region has
been awarded £60m in the investment plan.
The Tees Valley has secured major events
such as BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, the
Great North CityGames and concerts by
The Killers, Take That and Jess Glynne, and
is going from strength to strength. This
funding will help attract more headline
events and drive the tourism spend even
higher.
With world-leading research and
innovation organisations such as the
Materials Processing Institute, CPI, TWI
and the recently opened National Horizons
Centre in the region, the sector is fast
emerging as one of the Tees Valley’s most
important. That’s why £20m has been set
aside to develop and enhance these bodies
and the businesses they support.
For immediate local impact across all of
the Tees Valley’s towns, £50m is being used
to directly improve the day-to-day lives of
the people of the Tees Valley through an
Indigenous Growth Programme, for local
schemes across all five boroughs.
Together, this complementary range of
funding will drive forward the ambitions of
the Tees Valley, and provide a better future
for its businesses and people.