Tees Valley To Join Flagship Initiative To Transform Local Services

The Tees Valley is set to benefit from a pioneering initiative to join up national and local investment in innovative public services.

The One Public Estate programme is delivered by the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association. It supports joint working across central and local government to use land and property to boost economic growth, unlock regeneration and create more integrated public services.

It encourages public sector partners to share buildings, transform services, reduce running costs and release surplus and under-used land for development.

Following a proposal put forward by the Tees Valley Combined Authority with its five partner councils, the Tees Valley has secured more than £400,000 after being accepted as a member of the programme.

The programme will initially support the development of the following local schemes:

• Darlington Town Centre Fringe Project- The project will examine the best use of the site by existing occupiers to make efficiencies and free up land for new commercial and residential developments.

• Hartlepool Civic Quarter- The funding will help identify which services should be co-located, the service and property requirements and the efficiencies and operational advantages of the proposals.

• South of Tees Children’s Hub- The project aims to establish an integrated single point of access across South of Tees through a multi professional triage and assessment hub to improve intelligence sharing, risk assessment and decision making for vulnerable children and their families ensuring they get access to the right early help and specialist support.

Mayor David Budd, Chair Tees Valley Combined Authority said:   “We have high ambitions for our area, for generating new jobs and attracting investment to transform our economy.

“This new programme ensures the Tees Valley remains at the forefront of innovative thinking and collaboration.  The projects supported will help improve the coherence of local services, finding innovative solutions to make the best use of our land and facilities.”