Mayor calls for assurances over asset transfers

Mayor Chris Cooke expressed concern after asset transfers

A town's mayor says governance around former council assets must be "whiter than white".

The government approved millions of pounds of assets to be transferred from Middlesbrough Council to the Middlesbrough Development Corporation (MDC) on Wednesday.

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, who leads the MDC, said the move would allow long overdue improvements to be made to Middlesbrough.

But Middlesbrough mayor Chris Cooke said he expected the council to be "properly compensated for any loss of income".

A total of £14.7m of public assets will be transferred to the MDC, including car parks, the Crown pub, the Civic Centre, Broadcasting House Enterprise Centre and Middlesbrough bus station.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove approved the transfer.

In his letter to the Tees Valley mayor regarding the asset transfer, Mr Gove highlighted the importance of "strong and effective" governance in the development corporations "in which all can have confidence".

The asset transfers include The Crown, a former pub that has fallen into disrepair

However, Mr Cooke said the council had raised "various concerns" about the asset transfer but had so far received "no assurances".

The Labour politician said: "Michael Gove is absolutely right to stress that the governance around these transactions has to be whiter than white.

“Council tax payers in Middlesbrough will expect the council to be properly compensated for any loss of income related to the assets.

"They will additionally not expect the council to begin to pay rent on buildings the council used to own at cost to the taxpayer."

Mr Houchen said: "We are determined to deliver much-needed regeneration to parts of Middlesbrough, which have been neglected for far too long.

"I am pleased we can now move on with delivering the long overdue improvements that are so badly needed and I’m pleased that we’ve gained the support of the government and Middlesbrough Council in moving this project forward so we can get on with creating jobs, regenerating neglected areas and making Middlesbrough a town we can be proud of."