Friday (July 24) saw the Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and the Combined Authority Cabinet sign off a £5.8m grant award to fund an inward investment scheme.
The project is said to have the potential to bring 3,000 jobs to the Tees Valley region by September 2022, delivering significant economic growth and employment opportunities.
Before the investment can go ahead, the Mayor and Combined Authority need to fund a highway interchange improvement, something that has been agreed subject to formal agreement from the investor.
The region is also gaining recognition for its position in carbon fibre production, as a new partnership with the Department for International Trade (DIT) has been working to showcase the overseas opportunities for investors in this industry.
It is now being marketed to businesses around the world as an opportune location for large-scale carbon fibre manufacturing or the UK’s automotive aerospace and renewables sector. As well as to draw attention to the region’s bioscience cluster and potential to help with the clean energy ambitions.
Mayor Houchen said:
“Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool have a huge role to play in rebalancing the economy following the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, not just locally, but across the entire UK.
“To do this, it’s vital we secure investment by getting the word out about our world-leading research centres, top-quality manufacturing sites and unrivalled expertise.
“When projects that could create up to 3,000 jobs for local people present themselves, we have to step in and do what we need to do to get these over the line and lock down the investment for our local people.
“There’s plenty more to come. There are spades in the ground at the South Tees Development Corporation site, with local companies already on site and benefitting from our transformation of the UK’s biggest investment opportunity today. And Teesside International Airport is once again opening its doors to the world ready for investment through its terminal.
“I’ve led the immediate response to support our economy and businesses during the first phases of the coronavirus pandemic, but now we can start to look to the future as we position the Tees Valley as a great, outward-looking place to do business.”
