Yahoo News Care and health zone plans not a done deal yet but 'really gaining some traction'
Proposals for a new flagship social care and health zone are "gaining traction" but "not a done deal", councillors have heard.
Organisers say the planned Tees Valley Care & Health Innovation Zone has the potential to bring 9,000 jobs to a 110-hectare site and add £470m to the economy. One councillor has suggested it might be the perfect place for a new North Tees hospital, a key election promise of Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and a long-held hope with fewer years of life left in existing buildings.
Geraldine Brown, Stockton Council's head of policy, development and public affairs, said it would "breathe considerable new life" into the 50-hectare Teesdale Business Park - "not currently operating to its full potential" - to create "a Stockton-centred network for care and health businesses", while development at the central 60-hectare Tees Marshalling Yards could be "regionally significant", described as a "blank canvas".
READ MORE: Masked off-road biker's impeccable timing in Stockton park as Yvette Cooper promises crackdown
She added: "It really is a site that is at the heart of the Tees Valley. We want it to be a business site that is really vibrant and really attractive to businesses. Having a really strong, modern, fit-for-purpose care and health sector is vital to addressing some of the inequalities we have in the borough. We know we've got some skills shortages in critical roles and we struggle to recruit to some key roles."
She told the council's adult social care and health select committee they wanted to create "something that can be nationally significant", provide a fully staffed workforce, improve care and health training and take away barriers for communities. She added: "This is really about getting locally trained people into local jobs.
She said facilities needed to be renewed while innovation, research and development would be critical for the future, linking academia with businesses. She also referred to the opportunity for specialist and supported residential accommodation enabling people to stay in their homes for longer.
'It depends on a lot of moving parts'
She said the work was led from the council but the idea and vision was developed collaboratively with health, education and skills partners and the Tees Valley Combined Authority. Asked whether it was a "done deal", she said: "It's a vision at this stage.
"It depends on a lot of moving parts. It'll come through in different stages. Certainly not a done deal, this is about making the vision happen.
"What we need to get is that financial investment to enable us to really kick-start it. Now it's starting to feel a bit more concrete.
"We really want to get going. It's starting to feel like it's really gaining some traction."
'Exactly the right place'
Carolyn Nice, director of adults, health and wellbeing services, said she also wanted to attract social care professionals too for "a really well-trained, qualified, quality workforce to keep people at home and care for them at home. The idea is that this actually is not just a flagship for the Tees Valley but becomes a flagship nationally around that innovation and research. The 9,000 jobs, if we can realise that, will be fantastic."
Councillor Lynn Hall said: "This is really exciting for Stockton. The vision as far as I'm aware has always been there since the early 80s which the Teesdale site was originally developed." She said the combined authority would be "the engine that stirs this on and makes it wider than that".
She added: "It's really really important for Stockton because Stockton is the growth borough within the Tees Valley. Residents are voting with their feet and coming to live in Stockton because it's the best place to live.
"So therefore we have to make sure we have that provision. This is exactly the right place perhaps for our new hospital."
Cllr Nathan Gale, who represents the Mandale and Victoria ward, said: "It is a massive exciting opportunity, especially for the local residents. If we unlock its true potential, this is massive for Stockton as a whole and it's massive for Thornaby."
