Ben Houchen has launched his re-election campaign by pledging to build a new hospital in Teesside.

The Tees Valley Mayor made his first pledge by addressing an assembly of business owners in the first hangar built at the Teesside International Business Park.

He described how he wants to pivot from infrastructure projects towards the people who live in the area in a potential third term in office.

Mr Houchen does not have any health service powers, however, the Tory mayor said that the site would be "handed over to the NHS and the NHS will then run it".

A new NHS diagnostic centre is being built in Stockton town centre, expected to open in summer 2024. But an £80m bid for a new hospital was knocked back by the government last May, with just eight years’ life left in the current North Tees hospital buildings.

He went on to say that 'North Tees Hospital is not fit for purpose' and that NHS staff are being 'let down' and that he believed it was time for him to 'step in' by promising to build Teesside the state of the art hospital it deserves if re-elected in May.

Mr Houchen said: "We’re going to be using the economic powers that we have got. Being a mayor is about economic regeneration, growth and infrastructure.

"As I said in my speech, I don’t have any control over the health service. I don’t have any control over NHS England or where their funding goes. But the one thing I do know is how to deliver things, and I know how to build things and I know how to get things done".

"I feel like I need to inject myself into the middle of this because if somebody like me doesn’t it will go on for years and years and years. Failing infrastructure is only going to lead to worse health outcomes and potentially tragic outcomes for local people. We deserve better.

The Northern Echo: Ben Houchen launches re-election campaign

"I would be asking the government for some money and we could use borrowing powers given me through devolution to find it.

"I didn't have specific powers to buy the airport or create the Teesside Freeport or bring the treasury to Darlington - but I did it.

"It's going to cost up to high hundreds of millions of pounds.

"Over the last six months I have been speaking to local authorities and I have started informal conversations with the newly formed joint health trust, albeit this will come as a bit of a surprise to them today."

Mr Houchen confirmed that he would not be building the hospital at Wynyard as Labour councils wanted to do back in 2010.

He said: "It was a bad idea then and it's still a bad idea now.

"It's too remote from our local communities and with poor public transport connections it would be extremely difficult for people to get to."

He did confirm that he would want construction of the new hospital to begin within the next three years.

Chris McEwan, Labour Party candidate for Tees Valley Mayor, said: "Lord Houchen must provide more detail on his hospital announcement. 

"Given his office has no health powers, and the government has not yet committed to building any hospital in the Tees Valley, how does he expect to follow through with this pledge."

A Labour Party source said: "All Lord Houchen had to offer today were more gimmicks and pledges to do things he has no power to actually follow through on.

"After 14 years of the Tories, what the people of the Tees Valley deserve is a proper, long-term, ambitious strategy. 

"One which will actually make their lives better."

Finally, addressing the Teesworks report into any potential corruption at the Teesworks site Lord Houchen emphasised that he hopes the report comes out before the election. 

He added: "I want it to come out. I know we've done nothing wrong.

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"I need to see it in black and white that there is no evidence of corruption and there is no illegality.

"There's been a seven month investigation by an independent group of people with no link to me or the conservative party or the government who have looked at more than 1000 documents that have interviewed dozens of people.

"It would help if it came out before the election so people know we've done nothing wrong."

Mr Houchen is battling to be elected for a third time as Tees Valley Mayor on May 2nd, 2024.

The North Yorkshire Mayoral election will also be held on that day.