Tees Valley Combined Authority and Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU) have submitted a bid for funding from Government to support projects which will deliver jobs and investment in Tees Valley.
The Combined Authority and TVU have jointly bid for a share of the £1.8 billion of support available from Government’s Local Growth Fund to enable private sector growth and unlock private sector investment.
The proposed programme focusses on six key themes:
- Research development and innovation, to increase business productivity, specialisation and private sector growth.
- Business growth, providing advice services and grants to support businesses in the area and attract new investment.
- Economic infrastructure, improving the commercial space available for businesses and increasing the supply of housing in the area.
- Culture, working to improve arts, culture and tourism in Tees Valley and support the City of Culture 2025 bid.
- Skills, investing in education and training
- Transport., improving the road, rail, bus and sustainable transport network to ensure Tees Valley is easy to get to and around.
If supported by government the programme would lever in over £300 million of private sector investment into Tees Valley and the North, and in turn drive job creation and investment. It would create and safeguard almost 10,000 jobs.
More than £96million was secured from LGF rounds 1 and 2 which supported projects including:
- The creation of an open access technology centre for the Materials Processing Institute in Redcar and Cleveland.
- Enabling infrastructure works at Central Park, Darlington.
- The construction of a new building for creative industries at Cleveland College of Art and Design in Hartlepool.
Dave Budd, chair of Tees Valley Combined Authority, said: “We have a programme of projects which will deliver the transformational change that is needed in Tees Valley. We are calling on Government to invest in our plans which, alongside the new powers and funding of the Tees Valley Combined Authority will deliver our vision for the area.”
Paul Booth, chair of Tees Valley Unlimited, said: “Lord Heseltine very clearly supported our ambitions for Tees Valley in his recommendations and this funding will help to deliver these across our key themes.
“LGF has already made a significant contribution to a number of important projects across Tees Valley and it is vitally important to the economic wellbeing of the region that this continues.”