Latest news with #BenHouchen
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Chancellor to announce £1bn for Teesside transport improvements
Teesside is to receive £1bn towards improving its transport network, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce the projects earmarked for the funds is a new platform three at Middlesbrough train station to increase the number of services it can Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the award meant political leaders in the area could "deliver on our list of absolutely vital transport secure growth and jobs".In all, the government is to award £15.6bn to areas across the UK in a move it claims will "make all parts of the country better off". The chancellor will make the announcement during a speech in Greater Manchester and it is billed as forming the biggest ever investment in buses, trams and train is expected to say "a Britain that is better off cannot rely on a handful of places forging ahead of the rest of the country," adding the "result of such thinking has been growth created in too few places, felt by too few people and wide gaps between regions, and between our cities and towns".It comes ahead of the government's spending review next week. 'Get on and deliver' Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the funding "marks a watershed moment on our journey to improving transport across the North and Midlands".Houchen described it as "the right move", saying it was confirmation of money promised to regions by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when he announced the cancellation of the West Midlands to Manchester leg of HS2 high-speed rail in autumn 2023."We've been tirelessly making the case for this money, announced by the previous government, to come to us," he said."I'm pleased our message has hit home, and it means we can get on and deliver on our list of absolutely vital transport projects - agreed by cabinet - to secure growth and jobs for people across Teesside."We've already taken action to transform our major stations at Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Darlington."Unlocking another £1bn of funding will allow us to get on and bring the better roads, better stations and better transport links we deserve." Luke Myer, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said the funding would be "transformative"."This is fantastic news and long overdue. Every week, I'm hearing from people who are desperate for transport improvements - from more reliable public transport to proper road maintenance."Finally we have the cash to deliver."Elsewhere in the North East, £800m will go towards extending the Tyne & Wear Metro network to link Washington with Newcastle and Sunderland. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Ed Miliband's net zero targets threatened by BP retreat
A massive hydrogen project at the heart of Ed Miliband's net zero plans risks being cancelled as BP retreats from green targets. The H2Teesside scheme, announced in 2021 by the company's then chief executive Bernard Looney, was designed to produce 'blue' hydrogen from natural gas, and then capture and store the carbon emissions. It had been slated to deliver more than 10pc of the 2030 target set by Mr Miliband, the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, for hydrogen production and was expected to come online by the late 2020s. But sources have warned that BP is now likely to scale back or even cancel the 1.2 gigawatt project as it struggles to secure enough customers to make the investment worthwhile. The FTSE 100 company is currently in talks with the Government about whether greater state support can be provided, with Mr Miliband's department viewing the scheme as a potentially important source of hydrogen for both industrial uses and power plants. On Friday, Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley mayor, said he was seeking urgent talks with BP about the 'highly concerning' potential setback. He said: 'Asking for increased government subsidy in this way is not a sound basis for an investment of such scale and BP must now be clear in setting out a coherent plan for the project. 'There remains a high level of interest for this site from alternative investors and we will continue to pursue all options.'
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
The Great North: Northern mayors unveil investment partnership
Mayors in the north of England have unveiled a new partnership which they claim will drive investment opportunities across the Great North, chaired by North East mayor Kim McGuinness, will represent a combined population of more than 15 million people in the area spanning the Pennines, from Yorkshire and Lancashire, up to the Scottish bringing the region under one banner, they said they hope to attain investment in sectors including clean energy, defence, advanced manufacturing and the creative Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the leaders would set aside political differences to "bang the drum for the north" and attract "global investment". The partnership follows the Labour government's plans to devolve powers out of will utilise the Great North Run brand, founded by Sir Brendan Foster. A launch event will be held in Leeds, where the body will announce £118bn of investment opportunities, including:A clean energy proposition down the east coastThe Northern Arc and White Rose Plan, which are rail improvements on the Transpennine Route and the Liverpool to Manchester RailwayA northern security corridor from Cumbria and the North East to LancashireAdvanced materials and manufacturing corridors bringing together Yorkshire and Greater Manchester with links into neighbouring economies, or between the North East and Tees ValleyThe One Creative North partnership to boost the North of England's creative industries The six leaders joining McGuinness and Houchen are Tracy Brabin of West Yorkshire, Andy Burnham of Greater Manchester, Steve Rotheram of the Liverpool City Region, York and North Yorkshire mayor David Skaith, South Yorkshire's Oliver Coppard and Luke Campbell of Hull and East and Cheshire & Warrington are in a devolution priority programme which envisages mayoral election in following the establishment of a Combined Authority in Lancashire, discussions are underway on establishing a mayor there too. Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.
Times
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Kemi Badenoch fails geography test
Geography isn't Kemi Badenoch's strong suit it seems. Speaking at the Welsh Conservative conference in Llangollen on Friday, she said it was 'wonderful to meet so many MSPs'. Of course they were sitting a couple of hundred miles away in Holyrood. At least last year when Badenoch introduced Ben Houchen as the newly re-elected Conservative mayor for 'Tyne Tees' (rather than Tees Valley) she was only 45 miles off the mark. 'Why is nobody listening to the Tories?', a Labour source quipped to the Huffington Post after the gaffe. 'Answers on a postcard … although I suspect Badenoch would send her answers to the wrong address.' Even for government ministers it's sometimes hard to tell whether the system is out to get you or just
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Ben Houchen quizzed on Teesworks in BBC Radio Tees hotseat
The Tees Valley Mayor has been quizzed on his involvement in the Teesworks site while in the BBC Radio Tees Houchen was asked by a listener why he continued to defend "an organisation that has had a very critical independent review".He admitted there was room for improvement at Teesworks but defended the organisation for providing "billions of pounds of investment" for the independent review into claims of cronyism and corruption surrounding finances at the Teesworks site in 2024 found no evidence of wrongdoing, but criticised a lack of transparency. Houchen said: "Most of the controversy that came about over the last couple of years was highly political."He spoke of one large investment which he said had been deterred from committing to the region because of the controversy."As soon as those accusations were made it caused certain investors to pause looking at Teesside as a location for investment," he told BBC Radio Tees."There was one particular investor, Atlantic SuperConnector, that people can look up that publicly decided not to come to Teesside with their £800m investment because of the accusations that had been made."That's 1,200 permanent jobs that are not coming to the region because of that." Auditor recommendations On Tuesday, a Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) cabinet meeting was held in reaction to criticism of the local authority from Ernst and Young (EY) a 40-minute meeting, the TVCA director of finance highlighted three recommendations in the EY report, according to the Local Democracy Reporting combined authority was recommended to review the finance team "to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to support the breadth of its activities" and its process around the public inspection period "to ensure it fully understands the statutory requirements".It was also asked to set out a clear timetable for the production of its 2024-25 recommendations were all approved by the cabinet the BBC Tees interview, Houchen was also asked questions about Teesside International Airport, Tees Flex buses, when the cycle lane on Linthorpe Road will be closed and crime in Stockton. Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
