Mayor faces spotlight at live question time event

A regeneration boss has fielded questions in front of a live audience.

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen faced residents at Yarm School’s Princess Alexandra auditorium on July 23, answering queries on local buses, Teesworks developments, autonomous trams and Middlesbrough town centre’s regeneration.

Chaired by local democracy reporter Daniel Hodgson, the event was the first of several in-person sessions planned across the region, running alongside the mayor’s monthly radio phone-ins on BBC Radio Tees.

Mayor Houchen said: “It was great to answer questions in my hometown and I’m glad more people got the chance to grill me in the flesh.

“I’m more than happy for people to ask me anything – so I’d urge people to pick up their phones for the monthly BBC Radio Tees phone-in, and to keep their eyes peeled for details of the next in-person Question Time events across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”

Approved in March, the initiative aligns Tees Valley with other combined authorities such as Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and West Midlands.

Future question time events will take place in Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland.

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