Major economic blueprint for Teesside submitted to Government

The Tees Valley Economic Plan has been submitted to Government by Tees Valley Unlimited

A major economic blueprint for Teesside has been submitted to Government.

The Tees Valley Economic Plan has been drawn up by Local Enterprise Partnership Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU), following consultation with stakeholders, residents and the public and private sectors.

The plan will be used to help TVU identify the main economic opportunities and how barriers can be addressed. It is also a call for Government to provide the powers and funding Teesside needs to grow its economy.

It will form the basis for talks between the Government and the LEP on the Growth Deal - Teesside’s slice of cash from the £2bn Local Growth Fund, which was announced last summer and will become available from April 2015.

TVU is one of 39 LEPs in England to have submitted their strategic economic plans to Government.

Since draft proposals were submitted to the Government in December, Greg Clark, Minister for Cities, has met with all 39 LEPs to advise on their proposals.

The Minister for Cities, Middlesbrough-born RT Hon Greg Clark MP, has welcomed the blueprint, which sets out six main areas that could transform Teesside into a high-value, low-carbon, diverse and inclusive economy. These are:

Develop an innovative culture and positive environment for business growth.

Transformation of Teesside into a low carbon, high value economy.

Improve skills levels to address future demand in growth sectors and in existing industries.

Additional capacity on the East Coast mainline rail route and improve rail services to major Northern cities and within Teeside.

Improve air, road, port, land and property infrastructure to enable economic growth.

Create and retain wealth by establishing Teesside as a preferred location to live in, work and visit.

On-going negotiations will take place between TVU and the Government to secure the finance and resources needed for econmic development.

Mr Clark said: “The Government looks forward to continued engagement with local civic and business leaders over the next few months. The Growth Deal provides a fantastic opportunity for Tees Valley LEP to seek freedoms, flexibilities and influence over resources from Government.”

Stephen Catchpole, Tees Valley Unlimited’s managing director, said the six core priorities outlined in the plan are “central to unlocking the future economic potential of Tees Valley”.

“It focuses on the area’s competitive advantages, emerging opportunities and also pinpoints what challenges could hinder growth and what needs to be done to overcome them,” he added.

Publication of the Tees Valley Strategic Economic Plan, which is available to view at <a href = 'http://ift.tt/PgKZIX'>http://ift.tt/1op4z5v;, follows TVU having successfully secured City Deal status in December last year.