Ben Houchen

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Mayor
Ben Houchen
Ben Houchen in York (cropped).jpg
Tees Valley Mayor
Assumed office
8 May 2017
Preceded byOffice created
Personal details
Born (1986-12-09) 9 December 1986 (age 35)
Stockton-on-Tees, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
Rachel Houchen
​
(m. 2011)​
Alma materNorthumbria University
WebsiteOfficial website

Ben Houchen (born 9 December 1986) is an English politician serving as the Tees Valley Mayor since May 2017.

A member of the Conservative Party, Houchen represents the five Tees Valley local authority areas of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool and Darlington. He also acts as chairman of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, the body that drives economic growth and job creation in the area.[1]

As part of his mayoral campaign, Houchen promised to bring Teesside International Airport (then Durham Tees Valley Airport) back into its previous name and public ownership.[2] In December 2018 Houchen announced that a £40million deal to buy the airport had been reached with The Peel Group.[3] The acquisition was unanimously approved by the Tees Valley Combined Authority Cabinet in January 2019.[4] In 2021, Houchen was re-elected for a second term.

Early life[]

Born in Stockton-on-Tees, Houchen grew up in Ingleby Barwick.[5] He attended Conyers School in Yarm before studying law at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne.[5] As a teenager, he was a member of the Leeds Carnegie and England RFU development squads, however later suffered from three fractured vertebrae which stopped his potential rugby career.[5] He is the nephew of Keith Houchen, a former football player for Coventry City F.C..[6]

Political career[]

Houchen was a councillor on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, representing Yarm ward, between 2011 and 2017.[7] In 2012 he stood as the Conservative parliamentary candidate in the Middlesbrough by-election.[8] In the 2014 European Parliament elections, Houchen was the Conservative candidate for the North East region.[9]

Houchen was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for Mayor of the Tees Valley in December 2016.[10] Upon taking office, he became entitled to the style of Mayor.[11]

In 2019, he appeared on LBC's list of the 'Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives', at number 100.[12] He was accused of pork barrel politics in the runup to the Hartlepool byelection of 2021.[13]

At the 2021 Tees Valley mayoral election, Houchen was re-elected with 72.8% of the vote. [14]

Durham Tees Valley Airport[]

The airport, seen prior to the combined authority's purchase

In December 2018 Houchen announced a £40 million deal had been agreed to buy Peel Airports' 89% majority shareholding in Durham Tees Valley Airport, bringing the airport back into public ownership for the first time since it was sold to Peel in 2003.[3] On 24 January the plan was unanimously approved by the Tees Valley Combined Authority Cabinet.[4]

Purchasing the airport was Houchen's primary election pledge in his campaign in the 2017 Tees Valley mayoral election.[2] As of 2021 the cost of bringing the airport back into public control stood at £40 million.[15]

South Tees Development Corporation[]

The South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) is the first Mayoral Development Corporation outside of London.[16] Chaired by Houchen,[17] the STDC area covers approximately 4,500 acres of land to the south of the River Tees, in the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland, and includes former SSI steelworks site as well as other industrial assets. The area includes the deep-water port of Teesport. The STDC aims to create approximately 20,000 new jobs and contribute £1 billion per annum into the UK economy by 2025.[18] However, as of late 2021, the economic impact of the port has been described as 'speculative' by a member of the management board.[19]

In January 2019, Houchen announced that a deal had been reached to acquire 1,420 acres of land on the STDC site from Tata Steel Europe.[20] The acquisition was signed off in February 2019.[21]

Consequently, he was one of the figures responsible in 2021 for the controversial demolition of the landmark Brutalist Dorman Long Tower, after lodging an appeal against its recent granting of a Grade II listing.[22] He later accused the Historic England official who listed the structure as being a junior member of staff, who had acted without the permission of senior managers. This was later robustly denied by Historic England who released a statement saying "The mayor’s statement is incorrect - the listing was not a mistake. Historic England advised DCMS to list the site. Following a site visit, our advice to list the site remained the same".[23]

Personal life[]

Houchen lives in Yarm with his wife Rachel, a French teacher at Conyers School.[24] He is the nephew of ex-professional footballer Keith Houchen who scored the equalising goal for Coventry City in the 1987 FA Cup Final.[25]

References[]

  1. ^ "About Us - Tees Valley Combined Authority". Tees Valley Combined Authority. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Tees Valley mayor: Conservative Ben Houchen wins". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Mayor agrees £35m airport purchase". 4 December 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Durham Tees Valley Airport to officially go back under public ownership in £40m deal". ITV News. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Robson, Dave (5 May 2017). "Who is new Tees mayor Ben Houchen?". gazettelive. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  6. ^ "No stopping the momentum". . 1 May 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Stockton Council -". www.egenda.stockton.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Labour victory in Middlesbrough". BBC News. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). 3 May 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2018. Cite uses generic title (help)
  10. ^ "Ben Houchen chosen to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of Tees Valley | Conservative Home". Conservative Home. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  11. ^ Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, s 107A(5).
  12. ^ Dale, Iain (30 September 2019). "The Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2019". LBC. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  13. ^ https://www.ft.com/content/e8fb3676-b4df-499c-a289-168dc580891c
  14. ^ "Tees Valley Mayor election: Conservative Ben Houchen retains role". BBC News.
  15. ^ "Losses of £14m, but this isn't the right time to lose faith in the airport". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  16. ^ "About South Tees Development Corporation - South Tees Development Corporation". South Tees Development Corporation. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Tees Valley Mayor & Board | South Tees Development Corporation". South Tees Development Corporation. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  18. ^ "STDC's Master Plan | South Tees Development Corporation". South Tees Development Corporation. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  19. ^ Arnold, Stuart (6 December 2021). "Council leader says income from freeport's business rates is not yet known". TeessideLive. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Steelworks land transfer deal agreed". 7 January 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  21. ^ "'There's nothing stopping us' - Tees Valley Mayor signs off steelworks land deal". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Dorman Long tower to be destroyed after listed status revoked". BBC News. BBC News. 17 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Dorman Long tower: Ben Houchen and Historic England clash over listing". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Tees Valley Mayor - Tees Valley Combined Authority". Tees Valley Combined Authority. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  25. ^ "A sporting family history leading Ben Houchen to success". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
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