A proposal to bring back to life Middlesbrough’s iconic Centre North East – one of the tallest buildings in the North-east – has been announced today.

Middlesbrough Council has put forward a proposal to move staff from the crumbling Civic Centre into a completely renovated and re-energised Centre North East.

The authority previously planned to move staff into one of the new Grade A office blocks on Centre Square but that proposal was paused earlier this year by Mayor Andy Preston following his election in May.

Mr Preston said the new announcement, coupled with an announcement in the pipeline on tenants for the new offices, proved the new path was the right route to take.

He said: “My vision for the centre of Middlesbrough is that we create a place that is buzzing 24-hours-a-day and is an amazing place to live and work.

“Very soon we’ll be making announcements about brilliant tenants for the new offices which will start to really change the vibe of the town for the better.

“Centre North East is going to be a massive part of that – it is an absolutely iconic building but one which is standing empty.

“We can bring this giant beacon of Middlesbrough back to life, fill our new offices with good companies bringing well-paid jobs and possibly create new residential space on the Civic Centre site bringing more people into the town centre which we absolutely need.”

Since the Mayor announced that due to high level of interest in the new office blocks that the Council’s move would be re-thought, several developers have presented alternative accommodation for the authority.

Four developers submitted proposals, two for refurbishment of existing buildings and two for new builds.

As a result Theakston has been identified as the preferred bidder with their proposals for Centre North East and that proposal will be considered by the Council’s Executive this Friday (December 20).

The agreement is subject to due diligence and negotiation of acceptable Heads of Terms within a 10-week deadline commencing on December 20, 2019 and ending on February 28, 2020.

A report will then be prepared for the Executive to make a decision on the proposals.