Houchen was reelected for a third time in May 2024 on a reduced majority. Following his reelection, Houchen criticised prime minister Rishi Sunak, blaming him for infighting and chaos within the Conservative Party.[18][19]
Teesside Airport
Teesside Airport, seen prior to the combined authority's purchase
As part of his 2017 mayoral campaign, Houchen promised to bring Teesside International Airport (then Durham Tees Valley Airport) back into its previous name and public ownership.[20] In December 2018 Houchen announced that a £40 million deal to buy the airport had been reached with The Peel Group.[21] The acquisition was unanimously approved by the Tees Valley Combined AuthorityCabinet in January 2019.[22]
Losses at the airport grew to £30.3 million from the 2019 to 2022 financial years,[23][24][25] leading to Houchen ploughing a further £30 million of public money into the airport.[26][27]
South Tees Development Corporation
The South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) is the first Mayoral Development Corporation outside of London.[28] Chaired by Houchen,[29] the STDC area covers approximately 4,500 acres of land to the south of the River Tees, in the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland, and includes the former SSI steelworks site as well as other industrial assets. The area includes the deep-water port of Teesport. The STDC aims to create approximately 20,000 new jobs and contribute £1 billion per annum to the UK economy by 2025.[30] However, as of late 2021, the economic impact of the port has been described as 'speculative' by a member of the management board.[31]
In January 2019, Houchen announced that a deal had been reached to acquire 1,420 acres of land on the STDC site from Tata Steel Europe.[32] The acquisition was signed off in February 2019.[33]
Consequently, he was one of the figures responsible in 2021 for the controversial demolition of the landmark Dorman Long Tower despite the granting of a Grade II listing to the Brutalist building.[34] He later accused the Historic England official who listed the structure of being a junior member of staff, who had acted without the permission of senior managers. This was later robustly denied by Historic England, who released a statement saying "The mayor’s statement is incorrect – the listing was not a mistake. Historic England advised DCMS to list the site. Following a site visit, our advice to list the site remained the same".[35]
On 9 July 2024, Houchen said in an interview on Times Radio (when asked whether Suella Braverman was a suitable choice to be Leader of the Conservative party): "I don’t think it’s a credible offering and the MPs and the members that I speak to are not interested in the divisive rightwing politics of Suella Braverman. If the Conservative party decides to go down the route of somebody like Suella Braverman, then we can absolutely see ourselves in opposition for generations to come."[38]
In 2023, Houchen was criticised after it emerged that a 90 per cent stake in the company that operates the vacant Redcar Steelworks site, teesworks, was transferred to two local developers, Chris Musgrave and Martin Corney, without any public tender process.[39] It also emerged that the private developers have received at least £45 million in dividends and hold £63 million cash from the project despite not having invested any direct cash in the project themselves.[39][40][41]
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