Member Article

The Peel Group make £5m pledge to Tees Valley Airport

Plans to implement the development of Durham Tees Valley Airport could soon take off, with investment from the parent company of the airport’s majority shareholder

The Peel Group is pledging £5m to begin opening up the potential for attracting jobs and investment on land south of the runway. £5m has also been earmarked, subject to the satisfactory completion of due diligence scrutiny, through the Government’s Local Growth Fund, overseen by the Local Enterprise Partnership Tees Valley Unlimited.

The plans, which are being submitted to Stockton and Darlington Councils, include the construction of a new 1.8 kilometre link road between the north and south sides of the airport, running around the eastern end of the airport runway, together with a large building forming the first phase of the Southside Business Park

The 1.9 million square feet Southside Business Park will become known as Aero Centre Tees Valley, offering a range of property opportunities from which industrial, warehousing and logistics businesses will be encouraged to invest and develop with the potential to create 3,000 jobs as well as well as contributing over £11m a year to the local economy.

Robert Hough, Chair of DTVA said: “Today’s announcement reflects the strategy set out in the Master Plan to maximise the potential of the whole airport site in order to help secure air services for the future and to make Durham Tees Valley a major hub for business and general aviation.

“The new road is vital to opening the Southside as a whole, including the development of new aviation-related activities on land adjacent to the runway.”

Stephen Catchpole, Managing Director of Tees Valley Unlimited, said: “This application is a sign of the commitment of Peel to deliver the vision it set out in the airport Master Plan, of using the potential of the whole airport site to develop the wider revenue streams, which can ensure the airport is a viable business able to secure – and hopefully expand in the future- the air service which are so important to the area’s economic wellbeing.

“The next stage is for the proposal to complete successfully the independent due diligence process used by Tees Valley Unlimited for all Local Growth Fund projects.”

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