Tees Valley Centre

[Inspector Knacker]

After the 'death' of Cleveland in 1996, places like Hartlepool and Stockton did start to pick up as jobs previously centralised there were returned back to the original councils.
However, in its 18 years of  excistence, Cleveland laid very firm foundations to secure Middlesbroughs place as the centre and the centralising of services like the courts are all part of this process. This whole Tees Valley ego trip didn't fall out of the sky, this whole thing must have been a long time in the planning. Did the groundwork for all this start on the deathbed of Cleveland?
When you look at the powers handed over to this body, just what powers do the member authorities have left, grass cutting, libraries ? Therefore will our rates go down for local services only to be pumped up to cover the costs of this cuckoo in the nest. Let's not got fall for the local tag as it's an out of town body trading on the tag. I can't see how this body can make all these grand plans on £15,000,000 a year, in real terms it peanuts. I can only see them getting a finger Ihe pie of our rates and borrowing paid for by guess who?
Looks like we'll get the pleasure of putting into the pot for the foreseeable future for the dubious pleasure of funding Middlesbroughs regeneration, again,