Chancellor Announces Teesside Airport in Running to be New Investment Zone

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng announced this morning in a Growth Plan that Teesside International Airport is in the running to become one of the UK’s first new Investment Zones, where new growth measures to increase economic activity are set to be introduced.

Teesside International Airport will join new Mayoral Development Corporation areas in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool as possible first locations for Investment Zones, tasked with turbocharging development, job creation and investment by reducing bureaucracy, simplifying planning processes and offering tax incentives to businesses.

Already receiving customs benefits as part of the Teesside Freeport, Teesside Airport could soon see changes to capital allowance rules and Employers National Insurance contributions that encourage local, national and international private sector investment, as well as enjoying simplified planning processes that remove the need for time-consuming negotiations between developers and local councils.

New Investment Zone incentives aim to reduce the burden on international investors by making it cheaper and easier to direct cash to investment sites. Earlier this year US-based aviation firm Willis announced plans for a new £25million aircraft maintenance facility at Teesside International Airport, creating up to 200 new jobs.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “These investment zones would be gamechangers for Teesside, with the potential to create high-wage jobs, secure millions of pounds of investment, and rejuvenate town centres in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool to ones we can be proud of.

“It’s also exciting to see Teesside Airport being included as a possible location, which would help attract more investment to the site – making the airport more sustainable quickly.

“These zones would rip up the rule book, slashing taxes for businesses to incentivise them to move here, would get things moving quickly by simplifying the planning processes, while keeping 100% of the business rates growth above an agreed baseline on Teesside. This can be reinvested locally to bring jobs and turbocharge investment.”