£15Million Boost to Revitalise Gresham and Fund Vital Airport Hangar

A huge cash boost to help a major regeneration in the heart of Middlesbrough has been unveiled.

A total of £15million has been granted to the Tees Valley Combined Authority and Tees Valley Mayor by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

The fund means £8million has been unlocked for an exciting vision to regenerate a stretch of Gresham, off Linthorpe Road and Borough Road.

Plans are being drawn up for a striking complex of apartments, as well as an array of townhouses, food and drink outlets, and a business incubator to support emerging firms.

Talks are also underway over a leisure facility to support both Teesside University and wider Middlesbrough.

The investment by TVCA and the Tees Valley Mayor will build on progress made by Middlesbrough Council and Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston.

The Council’s partnership with Thirteen Group will see 145 homes built in the £20m Union Village, with diggers on site now.

From the £15million boost, a hangar at Teesside Airport and associated infrastructure will also receive a £7million cash injection.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “This money will offer a big boost to our game changing projects in Middlesbrough and at our airport.

“Gresham has been in dire need of investment for a long time – and it’s good to see Andy Preston and Thirteen working together to fix years of decline.

“Our new Development Corporation will offer the means to get this new project, and a vast range of others, up and running in the town. It will also offer a boost to other work already underway.

“We’re in positive discussions with Teesside University – and the wider hope is this can breathe new life into a part of Middlesbrough where positive change has been sorely needed for generations.

“An extra £7million for a hangar at Teesside Airport is another big win which will allow the airport to bring in new investment and supercharge our Freeport vision.

“We’re working around the clock to bring good-well paid jobs and more opportunities to the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool, and this money will take us another step closer to realising our ambitions.”

Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston added: “This brilliant news of extra cash will help us crack on and get the job of fixing Gresham done faster.

“Working with Ben Houchen allows us to be more ambitious and go even further to make Middlesbrough a magnet for investment, jobs and prosperity.

“We’ve been working flat out to improve Gresham since my election in 2019.

“In the past, houses were knocked down and communities were destroyed. The area was shockingly left behind.

“Now we’re working alongside Thirteen to build a new and exciting future.

“At the same time, we’ve invested in CCTV and helped police shut down problem houses and drive troublemakers away. Crime is now falling, and we won’t stop fighting for decent people.

“Speeding up our work in Gresham can be an early success story for the new Development Corporation.”

Both Middlesbrough and Hartlepool Mayoral Development Corporations are set to be up and running by the end of this financial year.