 | |
 TDC statue at the Tees Barrage | |
| Formation | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Middlesbrough |
Official language | English |
Chair | Sir Ron Norman |
Key people | Duncan Hall, Lord Dormand of Easington |
The Teesside Development Corporation was a government-backed development corporation that was established in 1987 to fund and manage regeneration projects in the former county of Cleveland in North East England.
The corporation was established as part of an initiative by the future Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine, in February 1987 during the Second Thatcher ministry. [1] Board members were directly appointed by the minister and overrode local authority planning controls to spend government money on infrastructure. This was a controversial measure in Labour strongholds such as East London, Merseyside and North East England. [2] [3]
The Teesside Development Corporation developed several schemes, many on former industrial land on both sides of the River Tees and around Hartlepool ranging from housing, commercial, light industrial and leisure projects. Its flagship developments included the Tees Barrage, Hartlepool Marina, Teesside Park and Teesdale Business Park. During its 11-year lifetime 4.6m sq ft of non-housing development and 1,306 housing units were built. Around 12,226 new jobs were created and some £1,089 million of private finance was leveraged in. Circa 1,295 acres (5.24 km2) of derelict land was reclaimed and 22 miles (35 km) of new road and footpaths put in place. [4]
The chairman was Sir Ron Norman and the chief executive was Duncan Hall; the deputy chairman was the former Member of Parliament for Easington, Lord Dormand of Easington. [5] Most of its roles were taken over by the four local authorities of Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland as well as the regional development agency OneNorthEast and English Partnerships on its dissolution in 1998. [6]
In 1998, the corporation was condemned by Labour MP Ashok Kumar for having left a legacy of limited and "often inappropriate and threadbare development". [7] Michael Heseltine was tasked in 2015 with creating a plan for the regeneration of Teesside after the closure of the steel works. [8] This was to lead to the creation of the South Tees Development Corporation. [9]
The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its seventeen-year existence, it was responsible for regenerating an area of 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi) in the London Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and Southwark. LDDC helped to create Canary Wharf, Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, London City Airport, ExCeL London, London Arena and the Docklands Light Railway, bringing more than 120,000 new jobs to the Docklands and making the area highly sought after for housing. Although initially fiercely resisted by local councils and residents, today it is generally regarded as having been a success and is now used as an example of large-scale regeneration, although tensions between older and more recent residents remain.
Tees Valley is a combined authority area in North East England, around the lower River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley; the local term for the valley is Teesdale. The combined authority covers five council areas: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.
Middlesbrough Council, formerly Middlesbrough Borough Council, is the unitary authority covering the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Following the 2023 local elections, Labour has held majority control of the council, which meets at the Town Hall. It is led by the directly-elected Mayor of Middlesbrough. The council is a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.
John Donkin Dormand, Baron Dormand of Easington was a British educationist and Labour Party politician from the coal mining area of Easington in County Durham, in the north-east of England. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Easington constituency from 1970 until his retirement in 1987.
The Merseyside Development Corporation was a central government-appointed Development Corporation set up in 1981 by Margaret Thatcher's government to regenerate the Mersey docks of Liverpool, Bootle, Wallasey and Birkenhead.
The Leeds Development Corporation was established in 1988 to develop South Central Leeds and the Kirkstall Valley.
The Tyne and Wear Development Corporation (TWDC) was established in 1987 to develop land on the banks of the River Tyne and the River Wear in England.
The Trafford Park Development Corporation was established by the Second Thatcher ministry as part of an initiative to develop land in the Trafford Park area of Trafford and Salford.
The Black Country Development Corporation was an urban development corporation established in May 1987 to develop land in the Metropolitan Boroughs of Sandwell and Walsall in England.
The Bristol Development Corporation was established in 1989 to develop parts of eastern Bristol, England.
The Central Manchester Development Corporation was established in 1988 to develop parts of eastern Manchester.
Cleveland was a non-metropolitan county located in North East England which existed between 1974 and 1996. Cleveland was a two-tier county and had four boroughs: Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Langbaurgh-on-Tees. The county town was Middlesbrough, where Cleveland County Council met. The county was named after the historic area of Cleveland, Yorkshire. Its area is now split between the counties of North Yorkshire and County Durham.
Durham County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham in North East England. The council is a unitary authority, being a non-metropolitan county council which also performs the functions of a non-metropolitan district council. It has its headquarters at County Hall in Durham.
Tees Valley Regeneration was an urban regeneration company covering the Tees Valley area of North East England and at one time was the largest urban development agency in England. The headquarters were at Cavendish House, Teesdale Business Park in Thornaby-on-Tees.
The County Borough of Teesside was a county borough in the north-east of England, which existed for just six years. It was created in 1968 to cover the Teesside conurbation which had grown up around the various port and industrial towns near the mouth of the River Tees. The council was based in Middlesbrough, the area's largest town. The county borough was abolished in 1974 on the creation of the new county of Cleveland, which covered a larger area, with the county borough's territory being split between three of the four districts created in the new county.
The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) is the combined authority for the Tees Valley urban area in North East England consisting of the following five unitary authorities: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees, covering a population of approximately 700,000 people. It was proposed that a combined authority be established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. It is a strategic authority with powers over transport, economic development and regeneration including the flagship Teesside Freeport.
The inaugural Tees Valley mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect the mayor of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The mayor was elected by the supplementary vote system. Subsequent elections will be held in May 2021 and every four years after 2024.
The county of Durham returned 7 MPs to the UK Parliament from 1983 to 2024. Under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, coming into effect for the 2024 general election, the boundary commission proposed that one constituency be shared with the county of Tyne and Wear. In addition, the unitary authority of Darlington, which had previously been included with Durham, was now included with the four unitary authorities which make up the former county of Cleveland. For the purposes of this series of articles, Darlington continues to be included with Durham.
The non-metropolitan county of Cleveland was created under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, comprising the urban areas around the mouth of the River Tees, previously parts of the administrative counties of Durham and North Riding of Yorkshire. Cleveland was abolished in 1996 both as a county council and a non-metropolitan county, being succeeded by the unitary authorities of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees. The constituency boundaries used up to the 2005 United Kingdom general election were drawn up when the county still existed. For the review which came into effect for the 2010 general election, the four authorities were considered separately, with Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland being combined.
Middlesbrough Development Corporation (MDC) is a publicly-owned mayoral development corporation created to fund, manage, and accelerate regeneration in Middlesbrough town centre and Middlehaven, England.
