Tees Valley Mayor in London for last-minute crunch talks over Spring Budget

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen is today (March 14) in London holding an 11th hour meeting with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to further push the case for support for the region ahead of tomorrow’s Spring Budget.

Following reports that the Chancellor will unveil plans to revive the previously shelved Investment Zone policy, Mayor Houchen has been to Whitehall to underline how it would be “transformational” for the town and “turbocharge” the work of the emerging Mayoral Development Corporation.

Investment Zones, which are set to be centred around universities, are designed to drive growth by cutting red tape, including planning regulation, and offering time-limited tax incentives, and a new zone would be backed by £80m of Government funding over five years.

An Investment Zones would boost the ambitions and aims of the Middlesbrough Development Corporation, which will regenerate the town by driving investment and securing planning powers to streamline and speed up redevelopment.

Backed by £18m of investment, its boundary includes crucial assets such as the Boho zone, Middlesbrough Station, the Northern School of Art, Centre Square, and Teesside University.

He also used the meeting to highlight bp’s £1.5bn “cutting-edge” Net Zero Teesside scheme, the UK’s first fully integrated commercial-scale gas-fired power station with carbon capture, utilisation and storage capabilities.

As part of the East Coast Cluster, it has been named the UK’s premier net zero project to lead the country’s low-carbon ambitions. He sought a commitment that Net Zero Teesside, set to create up to 5,500 jobs, would benefit from a share of the recently announced £20bn fund set to “clean up” the UK’s domestic energy supply.

Mayor Houchen commented: “Since I was elected, I’ve always done everything I can to bang the drum for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool down in Westminster.

“That’s why we have hundreds of Civil Service jobs in Darlington and international firms investing in our Freeport, creating new opportunities for local people. Ahead of Wednesday’s budget I’ve been pushing the Government for even more to get the very best deal for our region.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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