Regeneration projects take big step forward

PROPOSALS FOR CENTRAL STOCKTON AND NEARBY TOWNS A 'HUGE OPPORTUNITY'

- By GARETH LIGHTFOOT Local democracy reporter

REGENERATION projects in Stockton, Thornaby, Billingham and Yarm are to move forward with proposals being put to leaders.

Stockton Council's cabinet will be asked to consider the “Tees Central” project, described as a “huge opportunity for expansion of the economic growth aspirations” for the town which council leaders say will create a large number of jobs and boost the Teesside economy.

It includes development of the Tees Marshalling Yards into “a new community at the centre of the Tees Valley” and a forthcoming Care and Health Innovation Zone, said to offer “commercial space and a potential platform for significant investment in new clinical facilities”.

The former Golden Eagle in Thornaby, meanwhile, has been hit with delays after “significant levels of asbestos” the worst one surveyor had ever encountered - was found in the eyesore building. The cabinet will be asked to use £1.34m from the Indigenous Growth Fund to start work in August and clear the site by spring 2026.

The proposals also include:

■A portfolio of “town centre living” in central Stockton and north Thornaby including affordable housing, student homes and “homes suitable for residents’ needs to increase town centre vibrancy”;