Devolved powers are delivering results Leeds can only dream of says Tees Valley mayor

On day two of the Yorkshire Evening Post’s in-depth look at devolution, Emma Ryan speaks to Ben Houchen, the elected Mayor for the Tees Valley region, to see what changes have been implemented in the north east and how they are affecting everyday people.

The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) was created in April 2016 and is made up of the Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees authorities. The following year Houchen, a solicitor, was elected as mayor.

Major projects

Among other things, in that three years £29.5m has been put into an adult education budget, a Tees Valley careers hub for schools has been created, apprenticeship support grants for employers have been re-introduced and a £1m cycling and walking bridge from Darlington Station to Central Park has been built.

In addition, the major projects have been to bring Teesside International Airport back into public ownership and TVCA has secured half the developable land within the South Tees Development Corporation and started compulsory purchase proceedings to obtain the remaining SSI steelworks site.

Currently, a consultation is also running on a new Tees Crossing that will run near the A19 to soak up transport pressures.

Of the authorities, which have varying political makeups, Houchen explains: “Regional devolution had to come with political accountability but the interest was about additional funding for major infrastructure projects that they could not fund through local governments. When funds became available, a more competitive process decided where and when money would be spent.”

The role of the Mayor is to make sure projects happen and be an ambassador for the region. For Houchen that includes liaising with central government, more recently the Department for Transport and Number 10 in asking for funding for projects and working up business plans – one of which was the £40m acquisition of Teesside airport.

Houchen says that has been a game-changer in opening up what was historically an industrial heartland, prior to closures of steelworks, shipyards and factories, to the rest of the world.

The airport’s performance over the previous 15 years went from 900,000 passenger movements in 2006 to just under 140,000 in 2018. As part of a £588m ten-year Investment Plan there are plans to develop a manufacturing park, increase freight, attract a low cost airline and more holiday flights.

He said: “It is something Leeds Bradford Airport can only dream of. It brought £40m to the local economy, protected 800 jobs and kept connections with the rest of the world open. Investors in the steelworks don’t want to fly to Manchester from the Far East and get on a train or the M62 for three hours. When you are talking about international investors spending billions, international investment does not arrive on a bus, it comes through an airport terminal.”

His priority is to put money back into the pockets of local people by growing the economy – something that came to a dramatic halt with the decline of industry.

“With the closure of the steelworks, 3,000 people lost their jobs and the bottom fell out of the community – that cannot be underestimated,” he said.

Aspiration

While there is still work to do, he says there is a shift in how people in the Tees Valley feel about themselves which is equally as important at the money figures.

He said: “One of the things that has changed, because of the real physical difference through devolution, is that people expect more. They felt they had been betrayed by government, they did not see a difference for years. Now they can see a difference and expect more.

“Thirty to forty years ago people left Teeside to get a job somewhere else. People said if you wanted to be a games designer you had to be in London or America. But Double Eleven (games developer) in Middlesbrough are working on Minecraft.

“People think there is a future for me in my home region. That is what it boils down to – what people aspire to for themselves.

“There is a long way to go, it is tough to cut through but that message is starting to resonate.”

Message for Leeds

As for Leeds following in the footsteps of the Tees Valley region, he advised: “Leeds City region, West Yorkshire deal – whatever happens if they get it they have to deliver. [It was] The biggest concern that I had. People say why do you need another politician? You have got one chance to set the tone, people will see it work for them or it won’t and people will only give a finite amount of time.

“The biggest challenge is to make sure within that first period they show real physical difference or things that happen.”