A trio of highly experienced leaders have been selected to drive forward key regeneration efforts across Tees Valley.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has chosen the new Chairs of Hartlepool Development Corporation, Middlesbrough Development Corporation and South Tees Development Corporation following a detailed recruitment process.
They will act as strategic leaders and ambassadors for the Mayoral Development Corporations, helping to forge strong partnerships across the public and private sectors and guide the delivery of key regeneration priorities.
The candidates appointed to the three leadership roles are:
- Mark Robinson, a retail and regeneration expert who previously chaired the UK’s High Streets Task Force - Chair of Hartlepool Development Corporation.
- Tony Parkinson, former Middlesbrough Council Chief Executive - Chair of Middlesbrough Development Corporation.
- David Smith, former Chief Executive of the Energy Networks Association - Chair of South Tees Development Corporation.
Hartlepool Borough Council leader Cllr Brenda Harrison, Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke, and Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council leader Cllr Alec Brown have separately been appointed as vice-chairs of the boards in their respective boroughs.
These appointments will ensure strong local leadership and alignment with the priorities of communities.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Our region is leading the UK in developing the world-class regeneration projects that are delivering highly skilled, well-paid jobs – and our Development Corporations are at the very heart of this.
“Ensuring we have the best people to lead our Development Corporations to the next level is essential.”
“These three individuals are outstanding professionals with the drive, huge experience and extensive local knowledge to supercharge our ambitions.”
Recruitment for new leaders of the Development Corporations was launched in May.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who is currently Chair of all three bodies, is not seeking re-appointment and will no longer sit on the three boards, in line with recent Government guidance on legislation and scrutiny of Mayoral Development Corporations.
Development Corporation Chairs will serve a four-year term, with a salary of £15,120 per year.
Hartlepool and Middlesbrough Development Corporations were established to spearhead ambitious town centre regeneration, encourage businesses back into urban centres, and deliver high-quality homes in a mission to create vibrant, attractive communities where people aspire to live, work, and play.
South Tees Development Corporation is responsible for the regeneration of the former Redcar steelworks site – now known as Teesworks.
The 4,500-acre area is being transformed as a hotbed for clean industry and has already secured billions of pounds of private sector investment.
Projects such as SeAH Wind’s offshore wind monopile production facility and the bp-led Net Zero Teesside are creating thousands of highly skilled jobs, with more to come.
Image credit: Tees Valley Combined Authority
