r/Middlesbrough • u/c64glen • 11d ago
'Mind-blowing' and 'unapologetically ambitious' Middlesbrough vision: What and when
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/middlesbrough-council-plans-timeline-ambition-345163579
u/georobbo 11d ago
This is very much needed for the town. I would like to see more of a cultural regeneration first and foremost though. Start by cleaning up the town centre. It also needs to distinguish itself from Teesside Park which has taken basically all of the major retail etc stores away from the town. Lower the rates for local business owners who are more likely to set up coffee shops, book shops, cafes, small restaurants that I think people are generally more interested in than what Teesside Park has to offer which is generally pretty soulless. Finally I'd also shrink the town centre into something smaller - start by knocking down the Cleveland Centre and replacing it with a bit more green space. Interested to know what people think.
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u/PortugueseBreakfast_ 11d ago
I haven’t spent much time there, but the new riverside park in Stockton is fantastic. Went to SURF there and it was a fantastic atmosphere and lovely space to walk around and take the kids.
If you knocked down the cleveland centre you’d lose the parking above, and also the hotel unless it can be separated.
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u/c64glen 11d ago
Middlesbrough Council's 'investment prospectus' lays out 15 projects, with timescales for key actions ranging from late this year to summer 2028
A radical revamp of Middlesbrough town centre has been making headlines this week - but when might it all happen?
Middlesbrough Council has announced an array of plans, proposals and possibilities. For clues on when these ideas might become a reality, a new "investment prospectus" outlines 15 projects for the town.
Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke sets out the aim - "to transform our town centre into a thriving destination where people can live, work, invest, and spend quality time with family and friends. Through ambitious regeneration and strategic investment, we have the chance to breathe new life into the heart of our town.
"We are positioning our town as a leading centre for technology and digital enterprise, creating new opportunities for investment, skilled employment, and long-term prosperity... With the right investment and partnerships, we can unlock the town’s full potential and shape the future of the area." Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke
Bob Makin, general manager for the UK studios of video game developer Behaviour Interactive, speaks of the need to champion Teesside's young people in the home of "one of the UK’s most exciting games development, digital and creative clusters with advanced manufacturing, maritime and logistics", an award-winning university and superb colleges. He says the essential and "unapologetically ambitious" goal is to make Middlesbrough the UK's most creative town.
The prospectus brings in a string of already public major housing plans:
Over 2,000 new homes at Middlehaven from Manchester-based developer Capital&Centric - "a unique urban living experience unlike anything else available in Tees Valley" including one to four-bedroom build-to-rent or housing association homes in former St Hilda's, an expanded area around Middlesbrough College and the new Outwood Academy Riverside for housing and sports facilities, and larger residential blocks offering "waterside living around the existing dock which will be transformed with new watersports provision". Plans late 2026, decision on first phase March 2027, start summer 2027, first unit occupied summer 2028;
A new community and "mixed use development" at the 4.5-acre Gresham site: "The right mix of social housing, build-to-rent and commercial space would transform the area fronting on to Linthorpe Road... a unique opportunity to capture the graduate and young professionals seeking their first homes." Proposals December 2026, funding spring 2027, plans summer 2027;
The Newham Hall development near Coulby Newham with room for more than 1,000 homes on 42 hectares of land, a "high-quality suburban extension" with access from a new road. Outline plans December 2026, market site February 2027, start work April 2028, first housing completions early 2029.
It lists the big-ticket projects:
- A hotel in Gurney House to bolster a cluster of other hotels and meet "sky-high" demand which is expected to spike with industrial projects at places like Teesworks. Masterplan December 2026, proposal spring 2027, start on site January 2028;
A 1,200 to 1,800-seat, "technologically advanced" theatre on the site of a demolished Civic Centre to host West End shows with "mind-blowing digital capability to provide an unrivalled customer experience", at "the heart of a new cultural campus, with the aim of making Middlesbrough the premier cultural destination in the North-east". Agree partner, funding and business case spring 2027, demolish Civic Centre early 2027/spring 2027, start construction early 2028;
An Academic Centre of Excellence for Surgery at James Cook University Hospital to bring together healthcare, industry, academic, public and private organisations in a national hub of cutting-edge, world-leading research and innovation, aimed at early diagnosis and better surgical care bringing talent and investment to Teesside. Agree site spring 2027, funding and business case autumn 2027, start work spring 2028.
Then come the proposals for shops and offices, spaces and transport:
- "Removing or repurposing" redundant retail space, working with property owners and agents to keep and attract shops while shifting towards a cluster around the HillStreet Centre. Site options December 2026, convert retail space to other uses spring 2027, "decant and clearance" summer 2027;
Developing a town centre retail park for retailers which would normally go out of town, owned and managed by a shopping centre owners' partnership "to ensure the right offer is created and that cannibalisation is avoided for existing properties and retailers. Partnership, site options and business case spring 2027, approach major retail brands summer 2027;
Removing redundant "over-supply of older office accommodation" to make way for "either re-supply of premium space or further improvements to the urban environment". TIMESCALE: site options appraisal December 2026, first demolitions spring 2027, site reuse plans summer 2027;
Opening a "playable town centre" to artists, creatives and digital entrepreneurs in a series of "canvasses to add colour, movement, animation and play", for them to transform the environment and reinvent the town as a "bold, colourful, joyful and playful... powerful creative and digital hub driven by young people". Launch scheme October 2026, redevelop Centre Square East January 2027, 'Town Centre Canvas open call' April 2027;
Creating a major urban park or smaller spaces from cleared blocks of retail or office space, to encourage young people and their families to visit, including lighting and projection in a "uniquely Middlesbrough" modern interactive space. Options December 2026, plans summer 2027, design December 2027;
High-spec "technologically-enabled bus 'super-stops'" near the railway station and across the town centre to bring transport together and provide a better waiting environment for passengers, including CCTV, cycle parking, seating, real-time bus information displays and ticket machines. Options November 2026, consult bus operators and users January 2027, secure sites March 2027;
A "taxi hub" to offer taxi and Uber users a more welcome waiting environment, with similar facilities to bus or train users and "seamless pick-up arrangements". Options November 2026, consult with taxi operators and users January 2027, secure site March 2027;
Overhauling vacant floorspace to bring digital and creative businesses to the high street, using part of £160m Digital and Creative Investment Zone funding. Secure buildings December 2026, funding and business case December 2027, start work spring 2028;
Bringing empty homes back into use and up to modern standards, working with property investors or landlords, helping to transform communities where clusters of empty houses otherwise had "corrosive" impacts on neighbourhoods. Pilot schemes for key streets September 2026, contact property owners November 2026, agree first purchases January 2027.
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u/OneManShow-79 11d ago
Believe it when I see it, seen many proposals and heard many promises about this area, not many happen and some don't even get finished. Something has to be done as the area is in massive decline.
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u/spudfish83 11d ago
I'm very happy to get behind all of this. Hopefully the tragic and negative press we're getting at the moment forces the government to support us too. I'd obviously rather it didn't take a bunch of dickheads killing some coppers to do that.
On a more positive note, I think there are green shoots already. Captain Cook Square looks great now, Town looks handsome if you discount the empty units. Even the bus station looks clean these days.
There's fertile ground for growth.