The town of Middlesbrough is the largest population centre in the area. The borough of Middlesbrough is the smallest of the five, at only 54 square kilometres (21 sq mi) and a population of 148,285: the Stockton-on-Tees borough (including multiple towns) is the largest with an area of 205 square kilometres (79 sq mi) and a population of 199,966, as of 2022.
The 1974 reforms created the county of Cleveland, including Hartlepool, the former Urban Districts of Guisborough, Saltburn and Marske, Skelton and Brotton and Loftus. Four boroughs were also created. Hartlepool, Stockton which had formerly been part of County Durham were created along with Middlesbrough and a new District Council of Langbaurgh (this took its name from the ancient Danelaw Wapentake of Langbaurgh of which if had formed the northern part.) These had formerly being parts of the North Riding of Yorkshire.[6]
Each constituency is made up of wards. Four constituencies were held by the Conservative Party after the 2019 general election, up by three since the 2017 general election. This was expanded to five after the 2021 Hartlepool by-election. Labour hold the other two. Sedgefield's partial seat is also represented by a Conservative MP, as of the 2019 election. The two Middlesbrough seats have the largest majorities for either party. The Middlesbrough constituency has a sizeable Labour majority, whereas the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency has a strong Conservative majority.
Tees Valley Combined Authority has its headquarters at Cavendish House, Thornaby. The area has 5 borough councils, each council has a representative in the combined authority. The TVCA, amends the mayor's annual budget (by two-thirds majority). It does not have the power to block the mayor's directives.
Mayors
The Mayor of Tees Valley is a directly elected politician who, along with the Combined Authority, is responsible for the strategic government of Tees Valley.[8] There are other mayors for the boroughs of Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees.[9] Hartlepool also had a Mayor from 2002 to 2013.
The current Tees Valley Mayor is Ben Houchen. The Mayor is responsible for Tees Valley's strategic planning and is required to produce or amend a plan for each electoral cycle.[10]
Professional, Scientific & Technical; Administration & Support Services
Public Administration & Defence; Compulsory Social Security; Education; Health & Social Work
Arts & Recreation; Other
Total
1998
411
1,670
403
1,223
265
249
1,147
522
1,394
229
7,513
2000
421
1,676
521
1,300
330
231
1,195
551
1,567
259
8,050
2002
461
1,553
577
1,577
467
239
1,226
553
1,709
334
8,696
2004
601
1,690
646
1,800
522
373
1,272
747
2,060
377
10,087
2006
775
1,655
774
1,836
534
511
1,363
772
2,260
384
10,864
2008
718
1,852
816
1,936
515
458
1,466
820
2,487
409
11,478
2010
723
1,859
705
2,067
445
453
1,369
886
2,706
406
11,620
2012
720
1,665
781
1,853
482
511
1,581
1,005
2,775
411
11,784
2014
766
1,657
774
2,141
688
481
1,570
1,107
2,918
375
12,478
2016
649
1,684
762
2,489
665
431
1,654
1,109
2,948
411
12,803
Enterprise zone
The Tees Valley Enterprise Zone is an enterprise zone which encourages industrial development. It was initiated by the local enterprise partnership Tees Valley Unlimited and its creation was announced by the government in 2011. At its launch, the zone contained 12 sites. Four of these sites offer enhanced capital allowances, aimed at large manufacturers. These sites are Wilton International and South Bank Wharf, both in Redcar and Cleveland, Port Estates in Hartlepool and New Energy and Technology Park in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees. The remaining sites offer reduced business rates.[12] In March 2015 the government announced that a thirteenth site is to be added, South Bank Wharf Prairie, aimed at oil and gas decommissioning business.[13]
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) operated here until the late 1990s on three chemical sites at Wilton, Billingham and Seal Sands. ICI was broken up, and its many chemical manufacturing units are now operated by a large number of companies that have acquired its assets. The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), a national innovation catapult[clarification needed], is based at the Wilton Centre, the former corporate headquarters of ICI, which has become a multi-company research and development centre: along with CPI there are now some 60 other companies, including the cluster body NEPIC, using these R&D and business development facilities. This centre is now one of Europe's largest R&D facilities focusing on developments in the chemistry-based process industries. The area is a chemicals processing area, but recently it has diversified to become the UK's leading site for renewable biofuel research. This industrial activity is taking place in a collaborative environment facilitated by the economic cluster body, the North East of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC).
Wilton Engineering's 50 acre fabrication and maintenance site is in Port Clarence. Barker and Stonehouse make furniture north of Middlesbrough next to the A66/A178 junction. The Teesside Steelworks near Redcar was the biggest blast furnace in Europe and was operated in its final years by Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI). Tata Steel Europe operate a pipe works at Hartlepool, whilst British Steel operate a heavy beam mill near Middlesbrough and a special sections mill at Skinningrove Steelworks. Able UK operate the biggest dry dock in the UK near Seaton Carew, Hartlepool where ships can be dismantled and oil rigs can be dismantled or refurbished.
The many chemistry-based businesses on Teesside[14] include Huntsman Tioxide plant at Greatham makes titanium dioxide. Huntsman's European headquarters are in Wynyard. Johnson Matthey Catalysts and Fujifilm Dyosynth Biologics have manufacturing units in Billingham while the Lucite International Acrylics factory and the Mitsubishi battery chemical plant are on the other side of the town. Exwold Technology operate their two extrusion and packaging facilities in Hartlepool. Banner Chemicals are adjacent to the A66 in Middlesbrough. Aldous Huxley's visit to the former ICI plant in Billingham inspired Brave New World and this unit now makes fertiliser for Growhow, using 1% of the UK's natural gas. SABIC petrochemicals and polymers, Lotte Chemicals PET and PTA plants, Biffa recycled polymers, Huntsman polyurethanes and the Ensus Biofuels all operate at Wilton. ConocoPhillips refinery, BP Cats, Harvest Energy Biodiesel unit, Greenery Fuels, Fine Organics, Vertelus speciality chemicals and Ineos Nitriles are all based at Seal Sands, with Vopak and Simon Storage tank storage businesses nearby. Sita are upgrading[when?] their unit at Haverton Hill. Marlow Foods produce Quorn, and KP Snacks make McCoy's Crisps in Billingham. Santander UK's mortgages division is located in Thornaby. Tetley Tea have had their only tea bag factory in the UK at Eaglescliffe, in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, since 1969. It is the largest tea bag factory in the world and makes 18 billion tea bags a year. Its distribution centre is at nearby Newton Aycliffe in County Durham.
Teesport is on the River Tees and is currently the third largest port in the United Kingdom, and amongst the ten biggest in Western Europe, in terms of tonnage shipped. Its size is due to the local steel and chemical industries.
This port handles over 56 million tonnes of goods per annum which are mainly associated with the local petrochemical, chemical and steel processing industries.
The port is an important piece of logistical infrastructure for the NEPIC cluster of process companies. PD Ports, who own Teesport, is headquartered in Middlesbrough adjacent to Middlesbrough railway station.
It is the main road for Teesside Airport, running adjacent to the railway, and was previously designated as the A66 from Darlington to Eaglescliffe and A19, Eaglescliffe southwards through Yarm.
Until the road goes out of the region, it is also known as: Sunnyfields, Orchard Way, Ormesby Bank, Middlesbrough Road, Whitby Road, Fancy Bank, Birk Brow Road & Fancy Bank
Most of the area is served by Stagecoach's Tees Flex network, a pre-bookable service running in and around the valley, mainly serving Stockton on Tees, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland. Services are operated by a dedicated fleet of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter minibuses.
Rail
Stations
The stations, by borough, are as follows:
Commuter rail services linked with lInes from Tees Valley to Durham and Tyne and Wear
Darlington is connected to the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and provides fast connections to London and Edinburgh. From May 2018, the UK Government announced that the line was to be re-nationalised for the second time since privatisation in 1997.[16]
previously proposed Tees Valley Metro route showing most current stations in the region along with proposed stations not built at the present time
York-based LNER serves the full length of the ECML and operates Darlington railway station. There is also a daily LNER service from Middlesbrough to London King's Cross, while Grand Central has linked Teesside with London since December 2007 with a non-stop from York onwards. It does not have electric trains, and uses the Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line and Durham Coast Line. CrossCountry operate regular services from Darlington to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Scotland, Leeds, Birmingham and southwest England.
As of the 2022-2 season, there are fourteen Rugby Union Football Clubs in the region, Darlington Mowden Park is in the highest division compared to the rest of the clubs:
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
