The Tees Valley Mayor is confident Middlesbrough’s development corporation will be up and running by the end of the year after the council cast doubt over the timeline.
Middlesbrough Council’s head of regeneration Richard Horniman does not believe the new initiative will be established until next spring. The mayoral development corporation is being launched to speed up development across the town centre and Middlehaven.
Independent Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston said it was a big deal and a significant step for the town. As part of the plans, significant planning powers for the town centre and Middlehaven will be shifted to the corporation to cut red tape.
A new board will be set up to oversee the body, which will be chaired by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen with Mr Preston as deputy chair. The board is yet to be appointed but it will likely include prominent Teessiders from the private sector who have local knowledge and skills.
Read more: How Middlesbrough Development Corporation will transform town
Mr Horniman said: “They [TVCA] are working to a timeline where a board would be established end of October, early November and the corporation would be in place by late November.” He added that there were caveats and the combined authority did expect timings to slip a little.
Middlesbrough’s regeneration chief added: “Personally, we expect it to slip a little bit more than that. I would be surprised if it was properly up and running before early spring but the timetable they are working to is to get there ahead of that.”
However, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, believes the scheme would be in place by 2023.
He added: “The proposals for both the Middlesbrough and Hartlepool mayoral development corporations will be put to the Secretary of State in the next few weeks. I am confident everything will be in place before the end of this year.”
Mr Preston said he still did not have a “massive amount” of detail he could share with councillors at a recent committee meeting. Labour’s Cllr Theo Furness asked whether local residents could be appointed to the board. In response, Mr Preston said he was open-minded and could see pluses and negatives if that were to happen.
Labour group leader Cllr Matt Storey, previously called for residents, local businesses, Middlesbrough councillors and charities to be involved in the corporation’s top team.
Read next:
How Hartlepool is set to be 'transformed' by cash
What will happen to dozens of fake NUFC kits that were seized at Newcastle Airport
Motorcyclist snared with drugs worth £50k and £73k cash when spotted riding dangerously
If you want to read more stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here