Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in

northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...

, around the River Tees. The area is not a geographical

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

. The LEP was established in 2011 and the combined authority was established in 2016, the latter after public consultation in 2015. The area covers five council areas:

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County D ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

, Redcar and Cleveland and

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimat ...

. Administrating the area is the Tees Valley Combined Authority, consisting of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and six selected chairs; local enterprise partnership chair and a chair for each unitary authority. The town of

is the largest population centre in the area. The borough of Middlesbrough is the smallest of the five at only and a population of : the Stockton-on-Tees borough (including multiple towns) is the largest with and a population of , as of Before the region, from 1968 until 1974, parts of the area had been under the

County Borough of Teesside Teesside was, from 1968 to 1974, a local government district in northern England. It comprised a conurbation that spanned both sides of the River Tees from which it took its name. Teesside had the status of a county borough and was independent ...

council area. This was replaced by Cleveland county, it consisted of four districts which become unitary authorities after the county was abolished in 1996. The Darlington district in the Durham county council area became a unitary authority in 1997.

Background

The River Tees's geographical valley is traditionally known as Teesdale. For centuries, north Tees was under the

Prince-bishopric of Durham The County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, commonly referred to as County Durham or simply Durham, is a historic county in Northern England. Until 1889, it was controlled by powers granted under the Bishopric of Durham. The county and Northu ...

the both Darlington and Stockton had ancient wards. Middleton-st-George, Hartlepool and Billingham were in Stockton ward, the latter two were also in a district called Hartness. South Tees was under a

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...

called Langbaurgh, also known as

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

's North Riding. Urban (such as Eston, Billingham and

Saltburn and Marske by the Sea Saltburn, Marske and New Marske is a civil parish in Redcar and Cleveland in north-east England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 18,325 increasing to 19,134 at the 2011 census. As its name suggests, the parish includes ...

) and parts of

rural districts Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the a ...

as well as

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

(such as

, Thornaby-on-Tees and

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a populatio ...

) and

county boroughs County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ...

(

) were merged into the

in 1968. In 1974, the county borough was disbanded. During the 1974 reforms created the county of Cleveland including

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmar ...

and other areas. Four

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

were also created. Local government reorganisation in 1996 saw the county of Cleveland broken up with the boroughs becoming unitary authorities. The boroughs were placed into the counties of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

and

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

for ceremonial purposes. In 1997, the Borough of Darlington also transferred to a unitary authority structure.

Governance

UK Parliament

Tees Valley is divided into seven and a part UK parliamentary

borough constituencies In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

: *

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland is a constituency created in 1997 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Simon Clarke of the Conservative Party. Boundaries 1997–2010: The Redcar and Cleveland B ...

* Sedgefield (shared with the

North East Combined Authority The North East Combined Authority, abbreviated to NECA, is one of three combined authorities in North East England. It was created in 2014, and currently consists of the City of Sunderland; Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, South Tyneside; ...

) *

Stockton North Stockton North is a constituency covering the town of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham and other nearby settlements in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees located north of the River Tees, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliame ...

* Stockton South Each constituency is made up of wards. Four constituencies are held by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

after the 2019 general election, up by three since the 2017 general election. This was expanded to five after the 2021 Hartlepool by-election. Labour hold the other two. Sedgefield's partial seat is also represented by a Conservative MP, as of the 2019 election. The two Middlesbrough seats have the largest majorities for either party. The Middlesbrough Constituency has a sizeable Labour majority whereas the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Constituency has a strong Conservative majority.

Authorities

Tees Valley Combined Authority has its headquarters at

Cavendish House Cavendish House is Cheltenham's oldest and leading department store (established in 1823), located on The Promenade. Its establishment was of great significance for Cheltenham's future reputation as a leading shopping centre. Known as 'Cavend ...

, Thornaby. The area has 5 borough councils, each council has a representative in the combined authority. The TVCA, amends the mayor's annual budget (by two-thirds majority). It does not have the power to block the mayor's directives.

Mayors

The

Mayor of Tees Valley The Mayor of the Tees Valley, styled as the Tees Valley Mayor, is a combined authority metro mayor, first elected in May 2017. The mayor is leader of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The office was created under the Cities and Local Govern ...

is a directly elected politician who, along with the Combined Authority, is responsible for the strategic government of Tees Valley. There are other mayors for the boroughs of

and Stockton-on-Tees. Hartlepool also had a Mayor from 2002 to 2013. The current Tees Valley Mayor is

Ben Houchen Ben Houchen (born 9 December 1986) is an English politician serving as the Tees Valley Mayor since May 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, Houchen represents the five Tees Valley local authority areas of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees ...

. The Mayor is responsible for Tees Valley's strategic planning and is required to produce or amend a plan for each electoral cycle.

Lord Lieutenants

Two

Lord Lieutenants A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

( Durham and

) are appointed by the borough's ceremonial counties.

Economy

The following is a chart of the Gross Value Added to the UK economy by the Tees Valley Combined Authority region, aggregated by industry.

Enterprise zone

The Tees Valley Enterprise Zone is an enterprise zone which encourages industrial development. It was initiated by the local enterprise partnership Tees Valley Unlimited and its creation was announced by the government in 2011. At its launch, the zone contained 12 sites. Four of these sites offer enhanced capital allowances, aimed at large manufacturers. These sites are

Wilton International Wilton International is a multi-occupancy industrial site in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. Originally a chemical plant, it has businesses in a variety of fields including energy generation, plastic recycling and process research. History an ...

and South Bank Wharf, both in Redcar and Cleveland, Port Estates in Hartlepool and New Energy and Technology Park in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees. The remaining sites offer reduced business rates. In March 2015 the government announced that a thirteenth site is to be added, South Bank Wharf Prairie, aimed at oil and gas decommissioning business.

Businesses

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at ...

(ICI) operated here until the late 1990s on three chemical sites at Wilton, Billingham and Seal Sands. ICI was broken up, and its many chemical manufacturing units are now operated by a large number of companies that have acquired its assets. The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), a national innovation catapult, is based at the Wilton Centre, the former corporate headquarters of ICI, which has become a multi-company research and development centre: along with CPI there are now some 60 other companies, including the cluster body NEPIC, using these R&D and business development facilities. This centre is now one of Europe's largest R&D facilities focusing on developments in the chemistry-based process industries. The area is a chemicals processing area, but recently it has diversified to become the UK's leading site for renewable

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration ...

research. This industrial activity is taking place in a collaborative environment facilitated by the economic cluster body, the North East of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC). Hartlepool has a nuclear power station, and there is a conventional CHP power station and a biomass power station operated by

Sembcorp Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) is an energy and urban development company. Sembcorp's marine division provided a variety of services, including the engineering and construction of offshore platforms for oil extraction, until it was demerged ...

on the Wilton chemical sit
Hereema Fabrication Group
make North Sea platforms at the A1048/ A179 roundabout in Hartlepool.
Wilton Engineering's
50 acre fabrication and maintenance site is in

Port Clarence Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tees, and hosts the northern end of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bri ...

Barker and Stonehouse Barker and Stonehouse is a British independent furniture retailer. It is a family-run firm since 1946 and was established in Stockton, County Durham. Barker and Stonehouse stock a range furniture including sofas, beds, dining tables and chair ...

make furniture north of Middlesbrough next to the A66/ A178 junction. The

Teesside Steelworks The Teesside Steelworks was a large steelworks that formed a continuous stretch along the south bank of the River Tees from the towns of Middlesbrough to Redcar in North Yorkshire, England. At its height there were 91 blast furnaces within a 10 ...

near Redcar has the biggest blast furnace in Europe and is operated b
Sahaviriya Steel Industries
(SSI).

Tata Steel Europe Tata Steel Europe Ltd. (formerly Corus Group plc) was a steelmaking company headquartered in London, England, with its main operations in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company was created in 2007, when Tata Group took over ...

operate a pipe works at Hartlepool, a heavy beam mill near Middlesbrough and a special sections mill at

Skinningrove Steelworks Skinningrove steelworks is a steel mill in Skinningrove, North Yorkshire, England. The business was formed in 1874 as the ''Loftus Iron Company'', after a liquidation of the company reformed in 1880 as the ''Skinningrove Iron Company''. The wor ...

Able UK Able UK is a British industrial services company specialising in decommissioning of ships and offshore installations. Overview Able UK is a British industrial services company, operating primarily in the marine decommissioning and recycling b ...

operate the biggest

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

in the UK near Seaton Carew, Hartlepool where ships can be dismantled and oil rigs can be dismantled or refurbished. The many chemistry-based businesses on Teesside include Huntsman Tioxide plant at Greatham makes

titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insolu ...

. Huntsman's European headquarters are in Wynyard. Johnson Matthey Catalysts and Fujifilm Dyosynth Biologics have manufacturing units in Billingham while the Lucite International Acrylics factory and the Mitsubishi battery chemical plant are on the other side of the town. Exwold Technology operate their two extrusion and packaging facilities in Hartlepool. Banner Chemicals are adjacent to the A66 in Middlesbrough. Aldous Huxley's visit to the former ICI plant in Billingham inspired '' Brave New World'' and this unit now makes fertiliser for Growhow, using 1% of the UK's natural gas. SABIC petrochemicals and polymers, Lotte Chemicals PET and PTA plants, Biffa recycled polymers, Huntsman polyurethanes and the Ensus Biofuels all operate at Wilton. ConocoPhillips refinery, BP Cats, Harvest Energy Biodiesel unit, Greenery Fuels, Fine Organics, Vertelus speciality chemicals and Ineos Nitriles are all based at Seal Sands, with Vopak and Simon Storage tank storage businesses nearby. Air Products are building two waste to energy units at Seal Sands, and Sita are upgrading their unit at Haverton Hill. Marlow Foods produce Quorn, and

KP Snacks KP Snacks is a British producer of branded and own-label maize-, potato-, and nut-based snacks, "Choc Dips" and nuts. The ''KP'' stands for “Kenyon Produce”. The company is based in Slough, England, UK. History The company was founded in ...

make

McCoy's Crisps McCoy's may refer to: * A British potato snack * The public house in ''Fair City ''Fair City'' is an Irish television soap opera which has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 1989. Produced by the public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís ...

in Billingham. Santander UK's mortgages division is located in Thornaby.

Tetley Tea Tetley is an English beverage manufacturer founded in 1837 in Yorkshire. It is the largest tea company in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the second largest in the United States by volume. Since 2000, Tetley has been a wholly owned subsidia ...

have had their only tea bag factory in the UK at

Eaglescliffe Eaglescliffe is a village in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It is in the civil parish of Egglescliffe. The village was formerly known as Eaglescliffe Junction, being formed around . In 2011, the Office for National ...

, in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, since 1969. It is the largest tea bag factory in the world and makes 18 billion tea bags a year. Its distribution centre is at nearby Newton Aycliffe in County Durham.

Teesport

Teesport is on the River Tees and is currently the third largest port in the United Kingdom, and amongst the ten biggest in Western Europe, in terms of tonnage shipped. Its size is due to the local steel and chemical industries. This port handles over 56 million tonnes of goods per annum which are mainly associated with the local petrochemical, chemical and steel processing industries. The port is an important piece of logistical infrastructure for the NEPIC cluster of process companies. PD Ports, who own Teesport, is headquartered in Middlesbrough adjacent to Middlesbrough railway station.

Landmarks

Saltburn Cliff Lift.jpg,

Saltburn Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar. It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Ridin ...

’s pier and cliff lift Middlesbrough Walk (38537666224).jpg, 'Bottle O' Notes' sculpture and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) Preston Hall, Eaglescliffe.jpg, Preston Hall,

Preston on Tees Preston-on-Tees, locally called Preston, is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 1,689. It is home to Preston Hall and it's accompanying ...

Hartlepool (32693612673).jpg, Hartlepool Navy Museum

Transport

Road

Main Triple-digit roads Bus Most of the area is served by Stagecoach's Tees Flex network, a pre-bookable service running in and around the valley, mainly serving Stockton on Tees, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland. Services are operated by a dedicated fleet of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter minibuses.

Rail

Stations The stations, by borough, are as follows: *Darlington: **, , and *Hartlepool: ** and *Stockton-on-Tees: **, , , , and *Middlesbrough: **, , , and *Redcar and Cleveland: ** and , , , and . Lines Tyne and Wear and Tees Rail Map

* is connected to the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running b ...

(ECML) and provides fast connections to London and Edinburgh. From May 2018, the UK Government announced that the line was to be re-nationalised for the second time since privatisation in 1997. Tees Valley Metro Route

* Tees Valley line, serves most of the area and links to Darlington and Teesside Airport Station, with sections being the former Stockton & Darlington Railway. * Durham Coast Line, connects , , and with the main line. *

Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line The Northallerton–Eaglescliffe line runs between and stations. It connects the East Coast Main Line to the Tees Valley Line. It was built by the Leeds Northern Railway as part of their main line from to (via and ) which opened on 2 June ...

, connects and with Durham Coast Line. * Esk Valley line: services most Middlesbrough stations Services Darlington Station (33463118815)

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

-based LNER serves the full length of the ECML and operates most of the stations on the route. Grand Central has linked Teesside with London since December 2007 with a non-stop from York onwards. It does not have electric trains, and uses the Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line and Durham Coast Line. Local-service routes in the Tees Valley are provided by

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

, based in Manchester. TransPennine Express, also based in Manchester, has long-distance services from Middlesbrough to Manchester, via

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

Air

Teesside International Airport serves the area and has a regular service from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Schiphol airport.

Sport

Football

Association

Under the Northern League they is the

North Riding Football League The North Riding Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2017 by the merger of the former Teesside Football League and Eskvale & Cleveland League. The league has four divisions – the Premier Division (which stan ...

, founded in 2017 by a merger of

Teesside Football League The Teesside Football League was a football competition based in northern England. Established in 1891, it was dissolved in 2017 when it merged with the Eskvale & Cleveland League to form the North Riding Football League. At the end of its exi ...

and the Eskvale & Cleveland League

Wearside League The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Divi ...

also host North Tees Teams mainly in Division One: * Darlington Railway Athletic at Brinkburn Road, Darlington, County Durham * Norton & Stockton Ancients at Norton Sports Complex, Norton, County Durham * Darlington Town reserve team for

Darlington FC Darlington Football Club is an association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League North, at the sixth tier of English football. The club was founded in ...

, founded in 1908 (As Horden Colliery Welfare) play at Eastbourne Sports Complex, Darlington, County Durham *FC Hartlepool, Hartlepool, County Durham

Division two: *Wynyard Village, Wynyard (Stockton), County Durham

Rugby Union

As of the 2022-2 season, there are fourteen Rugby Union Football Clubs in the region, Darlington Mowden Park is in the highest division compared to the rest of the clubs:

Cricket

ECB PL’s

North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League The North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League, commonly abbreviated to NYSD, is the top level competition for recreational club cricket in the north of Yorkshire and south of Durham, England. The league was founded as long ago as 1892, t ...

Basketball

* Tees Valley Mohawks * Teesside Lions

Uses in local culture

* Tees Valley Wildlife Trust *

Tees Valley Youth Orchestra The Tees Valley Youth Orchestra is the flagship youth orchestra of Tees Valley Music Service and one of the largest youth orchestras in the UK, which welcomes the best music students across the four boroughs of the Tees Valley ( Middlesbrough, R ...

References

External links

Enjoy Tees Valley

Tees Valley Combined Authority

Invest Tees Valley
{{Subdivisions of England

Middlesbrough North Yorkshire Stockton-on-Tees Redcar and Cleveland Darlington Hartlepool

Places in the Tees Valley Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Oft ...

Local enterprise partnerships