Teesside Development Corporation

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Teesside Development Corporation
Formation1987
Dissolved1998
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.

Contents

History

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, [4] Hartlepool Marina, [5] Teesside Park (a retail centre) [6] and Teesdale Business Park. [7] During its 11-year lifetime 4,600,000 square feet (430,000 m2) 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. [8]

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. [9] 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. [10]

In 1998, the corporation was condemned by Labour MP Ashok Kumar for having left a legacy of limited and "often inappropriate and threadbare development". [11] Michael Heseltine was tasked in 2015 with creating a plan for the regeneration of Teesside after the closure of the steel works. [12] This was to lead to the creation of the South Tees Development Corporation. [13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Teesside Development Corporation (Area and Constitution) Order 1987". Legislation.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  2. ↑ Parkinson, Michael; Duffy, James (1984). Government's Response to Inner-City Riots: The Minister for Merseyside and the Task Force. Vol. 37. Parliamentary Affairs. pp. 76–96.
  3. ↑ Crick, Michael (1997). Michael Heseltine: A Biography. Hamish Hamilton. p. 238. ISBN   978-0241136911.
  4. ↑ Department of Civil Engineering. "Tees Barrage, Cleveland". University of Portsmouth. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
  5. ↑ "Hartlepool". Discovery Properties. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  6. ↑ "Teesside Park: 30 years since famous face marked opening of road into shoppers paradise". Gazette Live. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  7. ↑ "Tees Valley Care and Health Innovation Zone". Tees Valley. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  8. ↑ National Audit Office report dated 27 February 2002
  9. ↑ Roth, Andrew (20 December 2003). "Lord Dormand of Easington, genial chairman during Labour's hard times". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 December 2007.
  10. ↑ "The Urban Development Corporations in England (Dissolution) Order 1998". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  11. ↑ Hetherington, Peter (27 May 2000). "Police inquiry into grant by agency: Government redevelopment money was allegedly diverted". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  12. ↑ "Heseltine: Teesside can become 'bustling powerhouse'". BBC News. 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "The South Tees Development Corporation (Establishment) Order 2017". Legislation.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
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