Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston have today (16 May) unveiled a bold new vision for Middlesbrough town centre.

At a major event attended by dozens of key partners and business leaders, they laid out the plans for a Middlesbrough Development Corporation – the third of its kind in the region – which will transform the town, make the streets safer and cleaner and go further, faster, in capitalising on the £106million of investment being made there.

The body would focus on the town centre, Middlehaven and Zetland Historic Quarter and tie them together more closely, including crucial assets such as the Boho zone, Middlesbrough Station, the Northern School of Art, Centre Square, Teesside University and much more. It will come at no extra cost to the taxpayer, or have any impact on council tax rates.

The Middlesbrough Development Corporation follows the success of the area’s first Mayoral Development Corporation, Teesworks in Redcar, which is currently seeing hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in low-carbon and renewable schemes from some of the world’s biggest firms.

Just weeks ago, Mayor Houchen and Hartlepool Borough Council leader Shane Moore announced a second Hartlepool Development Corporation to regenerate the centre of the town to make it a more attractive place to live, visit and do business.

Although different in purpose, when all three are operational they will complement and enhance the impact of each other. For example, good-quality jobs Teesworks is bringing will leading to more spending in local hospitality businesses as the towns become a more attractive destination. This interconnectivity will help supercharge regeneration across the sites.

Middlesbrough Development Corporation will be overseen by a new board, would slash red tape to make investing even easier for businesses and have powers over planning to drive forward projects to reshape Middlesbrough more quickly.

Many national businesses, including insurance company AXA, have already seen the benefits in relocating to a new office in the town. Modernising and developing the centre to help it rival big cities such as Newcastle and Leeds will leverage even more private sector investment, improve it for local people and visitors and keep it thriving.

Mayor Houchen said: “We have funded huge schemes across Middlesbrough to boost transport, education, business investment and infrastructure but, until now, there have never been plans to draw these together to supercharge the town and make it much, much more than the sum of its parts.

“This announcement is about more than just bricks and mortar, though. The Development Corporation will sit at the heart of the town, growing it as a place and transforming the culture to make the streets safer and cleaner. We want to create a town where young people want to live and study and businesses will flock to.

“This will be the third Development Corporation in the region, helping to cut the red tape and bureaucracy surrounding with planning and development processes to help us deliver on the key priorities faster. We’ll be able to halt delays and drive the transformation people want to see much sooner than otherwise.

“We’re doing it with Teesworks over in Redcar and plans are progressing to revamp Hartlepool too. Now it’s Middlesbrough’s time to shine.”

Mayor Preston said: “We’ve made amazing progress in transforming Middlesbrough in the past three years. We’re building the first homes in the town centre for a generation and developing the best leisure venues for miles around. We have thriving companies doing business on the global stage and millions of pounds are being invested in culture to help attract more visitors to town. A Development Corporation will help us win more investment and create jobs of all kinds. Middlesbrough can go head to head with popular cities, the time for talk is over and I’m looking forward to working even closer with Ben to make it happen.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has today (04 April) outlined a raft of transformative transport projects across the region that will be funded through the £310million secured from the Government to invest in local transport priorities.

Stations across every borough will receive a share of £86.5million, with investments in Darlington, Eaglescliffe, Middlesbrough, Redcar, and Billingham. The two stations at Teesworks – South Bank and British Steel Redcar – will also be enhanced, as will the transport links to access them.

This is in addition to line speed and capacity improvements, as well as part-funding to resolve issues between Eaglescliffe and Northallerton, where low bridges and tunnels restrict the size of freight on the line.

The Bus network is set to get a £40million boost, with work to improve nine key corridors, providing better connectivity between the region’s main town centres, residential and employment areas, with extra funding to revamp the region’s bus shelters. This includes enhancing links between Middlesbrough town centre and Ingleby Barwick and Coulby Newham, Darlington town centre with Cockerton and the Red Hall area plus Middlesbrough to Redcar town centre and onwards to East Cleveland.

There will be further investment in the region’s roads, with £82.9million passed on to Local Highways Authorities to help them address local priorities, including highways maintenance, including fixing potholes, and small-scale road improvements.

Active travel routes to facilitate walking and cycling will benefit from £46.2million, with 12 such routes across all five boroughs earmarked for upgrades, including Redcar town centre to Teesworks, Yarm Road to Teesside International Airport’s in-development £200million business park and Thornaby to Stockton town centre. On top of that, the current network of Active Travel Hubs will be expanded to support the public and make it easier and safer for people to take advantage of the new and existing walking and cycling infrastructure.

For those people who don’t own a vehicle or aren’t close to public transport links, £3.5million will be invested to continue the region’s Wheels 2 Work scheme – which gives people access to electric bikes to help them get to and from work – and also the Tees Flex on-demand bus service, so no one is left behind.

The funding won’t just make it easier, faster and smoother than ever to get to, from and around the Tees Valley, it will also be used to ramp up our work as a hydrogen and low carbon powerhouse for the UK. A total of £31million will support the rollout of hydrogen vehicles, as part of our status as the UK’s first Hydrogen Transport Hub, and £2million backing the transition to electric vehicles in the region.

A move to digitalisation will also see significant funding used for smart city technology, helping to make the road network more efficient and responsive, and improve customer information. Technology to enable real-time responses such as changing traffic light timings would minimise delays due to planned large-scale events like football matches, or unforeseen circumstances such as traffic accidents.

Mayor Houchen said: “In October we were able to secure £310million from the Government, the biggest ever pot of money secured for local transport priorities. The sweeping investments will touch on every corner of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool and mean local people have the good-quality transport they rightfully deserve.

“The funding will support everything from huge, transformative schemes such as Darlington and Middlesbrough’s station upgrades to smaller but no less important developments like better bus shelters and cash to maintain roads.

“With 2022 our year of construction, work is ramping up on the Teesworks site, and it’s vital that we invest in the infrastructure there now so that it has the best transport links possible and the workers of the future, no matter how they travel, aren’t left behind.

“As we continue to pioneer the cleaner, safer and healthier industries of the future this money too will help drive forward alternative, low-carbon fuel vehicles, and also help people to make more journeys on foot or on their bikes.

“When taken together, these schemes will go a long way in futureproofing our transport network and give local people the fast, reliable, safe services that they deserve and have been crying out for.”

Cllr Heather Scott, Leader of Darlington Borough Council and Combined Authority Cabinet Lead on Transport, said: “These projects will bring huge improvements to the transport infrastructure, benefiting communities right across Tees Valley.”

The full list of all projects is available on the TVCA website.

Mayor Andy Preston has welcomed the Head Master of Eton College to Middlesbrough after plans were announced to open a new sixth form in the town.

Eton Head Master Simon Henderson was joined on Wednesday’s visit by Star Academies’ Director of Education Lisa Crausby.

Eton and Star last week confirmed their intention to open new colleges in Middlesbrough, Dudley and Oldham.

The new college in Middlesbrough is planned to open in 2025, subject to funding and all other legal requirements.

Eton and Star would develop the admission criteria for the new college, with both institutions committed to giving opportunities to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through their partnership.

Mayor Preston and Deputy Mayor Mieka Smiles gave the representatives from Eton and Star a brief tour of the Middlehaven area, to show how a new college could be part of the area’s transformation.

Mayor Preston said: “Our area is going to see a population boom in the 16-19 age category in the coming years.

“The Tees Valley area will soon have an extra 5,000 young people in that bracket and it’s clear our area will need a new college.

“I’m determined that a new college comes to Middlesbrough and the national news story that Eton and Star want to open a sixth form here fits perfectly with the fact we will need an additional sixth form.

“The partnership’s proposed college focusing on bright but deprived kids will fantastically complement our brilliant existing schools and colleges.

“This would be massive for the North East and be another huge piece in a monstrous social and physical regeneration jigsaw that is transforming our town’s heart.

“The potential of the wider Middlesbrough area is gigantic and I’m ecstatic Eton and Star Academies have recognised that. Following last week’s announcement councils across the country have contacted Star desperately trying to find out how they can be part of this story.

“A new sixth form of this nature would help us get more Teesside children into top universities.

“Central Middlesbrough is already home to the world-class Teesside University and amazing further education and specialist art colleges.

“Welcoming Eton and Star into the mix would cement Middlesbrough as a regional capital for educational standards and the ambition of young people.”

Eton and Star intend to bid in the next wave of the Department for Education’s Free School Programme, a process expected to get under way in the next few months.

If the bid is successful, Middlesbrough Council would explore the plans further alongside the existing education institutions in the town.

PD Ports, owner and operator of Teesport, has recently celebrated the first anniversary since the unveiling of its state-of-the-art Teesport Bulks Terminal.

Officially unveiled in the height of the COVID19 pandemic during an innovative live-streamed virtual ceremony, the Teesport Bulks Terminal marked an important milestone not only for PD Ports, but for the Tees Valley as a whole.

The multimillion pound bulks handling facility, which created 44 new permanent jobs, was opened by then Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, Simon Clarke MP and signified the revival of bulk cargo handling on Teesside following the collapse of the steelworks in 2015.

Now, as PD Ports marks the first anniversary of the Teesport Bulks Terminal, the port is celebrating a 60 per cent increase in volumes of bulk cargo handled via the new facility with over two million tonnes handled in the first year since opening, including two record breaking months.

CEO Frans Calje said: “It’s been fantastic to see the successful transformation of Teesport’s bulks handling infrastructure through this new facility, which is underpinned by our growing customer base.

“To see a 60 per cent growth in bulk handling volumes during 12 exceptionally challenging months and during which time we have also secured three long-term deals at the facility, is testament to our continued investment and ongoing commitment to delivering on the levelling up agenda for the North.

“The fact that such established and world-leading businesses within the industry are selecting PD Ports as a critical partner in their supply chains further reinforces our proven track record of delivery and demonstrates the confidence that global companies have in our port facilities and in our region.”

After securing a third long-term deal to secure the remaining bay inside the 300,000sq.ft. Teesport Bulks Terminal in May, PD Ports is now accelerating its plans to extend the facility further, signifying its ambitions to seize new trade opportunities and secure further long-term private investment to elevate the River Tees to become the UK’s most successful port region by 2050.

Maritime Minister Robert Courts said: “It’s fantastic to see PD Ports celebrating a 60 per cent increase in cargo volumes in spite of the challenges the sector has faced over the past year.

“The Teesport terminal is a vital hub that brings jobs to the local area, supports the maritime sector as a whole and helps us in our aims to build back better from the pandemic.”

Mary Lanigan, Redcar & Cleveland Council Leader, said: “This huge investment by PD Ports shows they have confidence in our area as we continue to attract industry and business from around the globe.

“It’s wonderful to see that their ambition is paying off with three long term deals with international customers and excellent rates of growth for the port. This is vital for the creation of high-quality jobs as we move towards prosperity in the years and decades to come and I’m delighted there are plans for further expansion. I congratulate everyone involved for their ambition and success and wish them even more success in the future.”

Redcar MP Jacob Young said: “One year on and the continued success of the Teesport Bulks Terminal is a testament to the confidence of PD Ports’ investment in Teesside. 

“Despite opening in what was one of the most difficult years in living memory, the port has seen bulks handling supercharged on Teesside. 

“Coupled with the UK’s largest Freeport and a plan to create 18,000 jobs over the next five years, we are helping to level up across our area.

“This is fantastic news for Teesside. It means more jobs, more prosperity and growing investment in our region.” 

A “game-changing” vision to reinvent Middlesbrough town centre will gather pace in the early part of this year.

Middlesbrough Council has received £14.1m to boost population and create a regional leisure hub following a bid to the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.

Mayor Andy Preston said the Council had put forward a “brilliant case” to government.

Mr Preston said: “We’re going to boost our population, broaden the demographic and design a leisure hub that will bring visitors and spending to Middlesbrough.

“This cash from central government will help us unlock Middlesbrough town centre’s incredible potential. We’re going to rebalance and reinvent the centre of town so we have the right mix of homes, retail and leisure. Families and young professionals who move to our town centre will have great things to do right on their doorsteps.”

The announcement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government comes after the Council purchased Captain Cook Square earlier this year.

Mr Preston said the Council was in “advanced discussions” with potential leisure operators to transform parts of the square.

“This funding announcement means we can crack on with our vision for that area. We can now hit the ground running in the New Year. Our plans for the best leisure and culture attractions for miles around will attract more visitors to Middlesbrough, supporting local jobs and families. This will be a game-changer.

“This is all about future proofing Middlesbrough and building a town centre that will provide jobs for years to come.”

The Council’s bid to the Future High Streets Fund envisaged 650 new town centre homes for around 1,500 residents.

Retail space will be converted to ensure the town has the right mix to attract footfall and spending.

Middlesbrough’s Historic Quarter (stretching from Albert Road North to Queen’s Terrace) was the commercial centre of Middlesbrough’s manufacturing and trade boom in the second half of the 19th century. It is one of Middlesbrough’s oldest, primarily intact, urban areas, featuring high-quality Victorian buildings. The Historic Quarter was designated a Conservation Area in 1989.

The area is on the main route from Middlesbrough town centre to the railway station and thus forms many people’s first impressions of the town, yet many of the historic buildings and public spaces have suffered from a lack of investment, leading to the area appearing tired and run down.

Middlesbrough Council are working with Historic England to develop a High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) in the Historic Quarter. The HSHAZ works will include property improvement grants, public realm improvements and a range of community and cultural activities. As part of this development work we would like to engage with stakeholders, residents and businesses on our plans.

Two areas of public realm – Zetland Road (in front of the southern entrance to the station) and Exchange Square – have been earmarked for investment. Landscape Architects, Southern Green, were appointed by Middlesbrough Council to undertake concept designs to enhance both areas. Their brief was to:

  • enhance public realm environment
  • upgrade hard surfacing
  • make Zetland Road more pedestrian friendly
  • incorporate sustainable urban drainage throughout
  • improve the setting of the surrounding listed buildings
  • incorporate new high quality street furniture
  • improve functional and decorative street lighting throughout the area
  • introduce new trees

Existing and proposed images for both areas are shown below.

We would welcome any comments or queries on the concept designs by Friday 29 May. Please email any comments to: HAZ@middlesbrough.gov.uk

Your comments will inform the detailed design stage.

Zetland Road

Click the images to view them full size

Exchange Square

Click the images to view them full size

Middlesbrough is a front runner for the headquarters for a ground-breaking new bank that would create upwards of 120 high-quality jobs within five years.

Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston has welcomed as “hugely promising” news that prospective bank GBB – to be called GB Bank – may base itself in the town’s unoccupied Centre Square buildings.

Set to launch later this year, GBB will be the first new North-East based bank in six years, with a focus on residential and commercial property developers.

With recruitment focusing on North-East talent, the bank expects to initially employ a team of around 60 people including bankers, accountants, admin, marketing, sales, compliance, risk and HR staff.

Positive talks have been held with the mayor and other Middlesbrough Council officials during the coronavirus crisis, with members of the GBB team having previously been given a tour of the impressive Centre Square buildings in the centre of the town.

Mayor Andy Preston said: “Along with council staff, I’ve been liaising with the directors about the prospect of GBB having its headquarters in Middlesbrough for some time now.

“These talks have not stopped during the pandemic because we are planning for the future.

“For the good of the town, it’s something we’re determined to make happen.

“Middlesbrough has played second or third fiddle to Newcastle and Leeds – and everywhere else – for way too long.

“We need strong local businesses and big national businesses to be based in the centre of Middlesbrough to bring high-quality jobs, boost the economy and raise the profile of the town.

“Senior officers such as Kevin Parkes and Tony Parkinson put a lot of effort into this and have clearly impressed a potential investor. The positive energy and actions of key council staff that have allowed us to get to this point deserve praise, whether we win this deal or not.

“I and everyone at the council will do everything we can to persuade GBB to base themselves and their jobs in our great town.

GBB co-founder Stephen Black said: “GBB will be the first specialist property bank with a focus across the UK regions.

“We were hugely impressed with the mayor and his colleagues. They couldn’t have done a better job in selling the town to us.

“We really bought into their enthusiasm and vision for the town, which are things we share in terms of our own vision and enthusiasm for GB Bank.

“Our board and management team will be looking to make a final decision in the next three months, but the quality of Centre Square speaks for itself.”

GB Bank’s chief executive Steve Deutsch added: “We’re looking to employ 60 staff by early next year and more than 120 within five years.

“Other banks to have launched in recent years have started with similar numbers but have quickly grown to create hundreds more jobs and there’s undoubtedly an opportunity to employ significant numbers at GB Bank.

“We’re clearly looking at a range of options, however Middlesbrough offers the right kind of positive, entrepreneurial environment and a supportive local council, so we’re excited by the talks we’ve had with the town’s officials.”

Set to receive its provisional banking licence in the late summer, GBB will provide credit facilities for property developers looking to build new homes, offices, industrial units, student accommodation and hotels across the UK but focused on the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire, Humberside and Scotland.

Focused on “trying to get Britain and the regions building again”, Stephen believes GB Bank can contribute to the North-East region’s post-Covid economic recovery.

“Development finance is currently not well supported in the regions,” he said. “Most of the existing property banks are based in and around London and naturally tend to provide credit to areas they know and are naturally predisposed to lend on their own patch.

“Accordingly, there’s a real need for a new bank for the UK regions and to have one emerge from the North-East would be superb.

“It is a wonderful chance to facilitate more activity right here at home, especially in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

Middlesbrough is a front runner for the headquarters for a ground-breaking new bank that would create upwards of 120 high-quality jobs within five years.

Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston has welcomed as “hugely promising” news that prospective bank GBB – to be called GB Bank – may base itself in the town’s unoccupied Centre Square buildings.

Set to launch later this year, GBB will be the first new North-East based bank in six years, with a focus on residential and commercial property developers.

With recruitment focusing on North-East talent, the bank expects to initially employ a team of around 60 people including bankers, accountants, admin, marketing, sales, compliance, risk and HR staff.

Positive talks have been held with the mayor and other Middlesbrough Council officials during the coronavirus crisis, with members of the GBB team having previously been given a tour of the impressive Centre Square buildings in the centre of the town.

Mayor Andy Preston said: “Along with council staff, I’ve been liaising with the directors about the prospect of GBB having its headquarters in Middlesbrough for some time now.

“These talks have not stopped during the pandemic because we are planning for the future.

“For the good of the town, it’s something we’re determined to make happen.

“Middlesbrough has played second or third fiddle to Newcastle and Leeds – and everywhere else – for way too long.

“We need strong local businesses and big national businesses to be based in the centre of Middlesbrough to bring high-quality jobs, boost the economy and raise the profile of the town.

“Senior officers such as Kevin Parkes and Tony Parkinson put a lot of effort into this and have clearly impressed a potential investor. The positive energy and actions of key council staff that have allowed us to get to this point deserve praise, whether we win this deal or not.

“I and everyone at the council will do everything we can to persuade GBB to base themselves and their jobs in our great town.

GBB co-founder Stephen Black said: “GBB will be the first specialist property bank with a focus across the UK regions.

“We were hugely impressed with the mayor and his colleagues. They couldn’t have done a better job in selling the town to us.

“We really bought into their enthusiasm and vision for the town, which are things we share in terms of our own vision and enthusiasm for GB Bank.

“Our board and management team will be looking to make a final decision in the next three months, but the quality of Centre Square speaks for itself.”

GB Bank’s chief executive Steve Deutsch added: “We’re looking to employ 60 staff by early next year and more than 120 within five years.

“Other banks to have launched in recent years have started with similar numbers but have quickly grown to create hundreds more jobs and there’s undoubtedly an opportunity to employ significant numbers at GB Bank.

“We’re clearly looking at a range of options, however Middlesbrough offers the right kind of positive, entrepreneurial environment and a supportive local council, so we’re excited by the talks we’ve had with the town’s officials.”

Set to receive its provisional banking licence in the late summer, GBB will provide credit facilities for property developers looking to build new homes, offices, industrial units, student accommodation and hotels across the UK but focused on the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire, Humberside and Scotland.

Focused on “trying to get Britain and the regions building again”, Stephen believes GB Bank can contribute to the North-East region’s post-Covid economic recovery.

“Development finance is currently not well supported in the regions,” he said. “Most of the existing property banks are based in and around London and naturally tend to provide credit to areas they know and are naturally predisposed to lend on their own patch.

“Accordingly, there’s a real need for a new bank for the UK regions and to have one emerge from the North-East would be superb.

“It is a wonderful chance to facilitate more activity right here at home, especially in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

Teesside could be on track to benefit from thousands of construction and engineering jobs created by HS2.

Following government approval of the “game-changing” rail project, the Construction Industry Training Board has said thousands of new jobs will be created in the next two years.

And Middlesbrough College has invested in construction and engineering skills training to help hundreds of Teessiders to take advantage of the opportunities.

At its industry-leading campus, complete with its £20m STEM training centre, hundreds of students are already getting the hands-on experience they need to excel in well paid careers in civil engineering, electrical engineering, construction management and more.

Zoe Lewis is principal and chief executive of Middlesbrough College Group – which encompasses Middlesbrough College, Northern Skills Group and TTE Technical UK.

She said: “We’re investing in the training facilities and course provision to make sure we’re offering a solution to the challenges the construction industry faces.

“We’re also building the skills needed to fulfil some of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects like HS2.

“We want people to know they can access industry-leading training here on Teesside – and we’ll continue to build on that reputation, providing skills and opportunities to benefit learners, workers and employees.”

Train builder Hitachi – with its factory at nearby Newton Aycliffe – has welcomed the HS2 announcement, as it plans to submit a joint bid with Bombardier to build 54 trains.

If successful, it could generate further engineering jobs.

Mike Emery, associate director of construction at Middlesbrough College, said: “We’re committed to helping construction and engineering employers access the high quality skills their workforce needs – and HS2 is a huge opportunity for Teesside which will be supported by Middlesbrough College.

“With industry leading facilities and expert tutors, many from industry backgrounds, we’re attracting ambitious learners from all over the North East and are seeing huge growth in student recruitment across our construction and engineering projects.

“Since acquiring TTE, we’re now training more than 750 engineering and construction apprentices – which demonstrates just how much of an impact the skills that are being engineered on Teesside will have on industry.

“We’re proud to be continuing to invest in our facilities and extending our course provision into areas such as civil engineering to meet industry demands.”

And bright spark students are already building exciting careers in the region and beyond through apprenticeships with well-known companies such as Hitachi Rail, Elring Klinger, Labman, Persimmon Homes and Tolent Construction.

Taking the industry by storm, the College’s apprentices have been putting Middlesbrough on the map at a series of regional competitions across the North.

19-year-old electrical apprentice Georgia Owens won the SPARKS ‘Regional Apprentice of the Year’ competition while 20-year-old plumbing apprentice Sam Scott scooped the hotly-contested HIP Regional Apprentice of the Year award.

With a unique offering in the region, Middlesbrough College delivers courses from every occupational sector and at every level – from Level 1 to Level 6 Degree Level, as well as HNC and HND courses.

Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Diplomas (HNDs) are vocationally orientated qualifications specifically designed to provide practical, industry related skills to both College leavers and those already working in a job who require new skills.

Building on its Good Ofsted rating and TEF Gold success – a teaching excellence framework (TEF) that assesses the quality of teaching in universities in England – the College was also selected as the only Tees Valley IoT and T Level provider.

The new T Level qualifications have been developed with employers to equip learners with the skills they need to enter the world of work – and the College’s pilot programme was a huge success.

Mike added: “As the only College in the Tees Valley selected to pilot T Levels, we’re leading the way when it comes to new delivery methods, and are working closely with employers in the region to ensure our students are set up to succeed in top industry jobs.”

Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston has revealed that planning permission for £30 million digital skyscraper Boho X is being submitted today (Monday February 24) – with building work set to start in late summer for completion in 2022.

Along with private investment in two neighbouring residential skyscrapers, Boho X will be part of a £45 million first phase of an overall £250 million digital project.

At 260ft, the tallest office building between Leeds and Glasgow, Boho X will be built on land close to where the original Middlesbrough Farm once stood before the growth of the town as a 19th century Ironopolis.

Speaking to business leaders at Middlesbrough FC’s Riverside Stadium, Mayor Preston said the initial £45 million project represents the biggest single investment in the town’s history.

He unveiled new artist’s impressions of a building that could eventually be the workplace for up to 1,000 people

“Boho X will be a stunning digital skyscraper on the very site where Middlesbrough first grew into the famous Ironopolis,” he said.

“Thanks mainly to funding from Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and the combined authority, £30 million is now in the bank for a world-class digital building that, along with a private investment for residential skyscapers, represents the biggest ever single investment in Middlesbrough.

“And this isn’t a long-term vision. It’s happening now! Planning permission is being submitted today. Building work starts in late summer and Boho X will be open for business in 2022.

The announcement also saw the mayor reveal the names of the first organisations to commit to taking space in Boho X – Middlesbrough College, Northern Stable (sister business of Visualsoft), Logic Architecture and the Endeavour Partnership.

Mr Preston added: “Boho X is just the start. Soon we will be changing national and international perceptions about Middlesbrough forever.

“We really can make Middlesbrough the digital city, attracting and creating well-paid jobs.

“I believe it will represent the North’s very best office space – at a fraction of the cost for similar space in Newcastle or Leeds.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “The talk is over, the planning application is now in and the first steps toward this ambitious scheme are under way. I know how important this new development will be to Middlesbrough and that’s why we’ve invested £26.5million from our Investment Plan into the project.

“We already have a host of world-class tech and digital companies across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool and with Andy’s vision of transforming Middlesbrough into a digital powerhouse, even more good quality well paid jobs are on the way to our region.”

Just a minute’s walk from Middlesbrough railway station, which will soon have direct links to London, it is planned for Boho X to feature a gym, café, 20-seat cinema, 200-seat lecture theatre and 750-seat events space.