IF Tees Valley is to be taken seriously, it needs to have an independent mayor to drive the area forward.

That is the view of Dave Roberts, chairman of Teesside Together, who was speaking out after comments made by Darlington MP Jenny Chapman last week.

Mrs Chapman wrote on Facebook that Tees Valley was a made up area that should not be forced to have a mayor because it was waste of tax-payers' money.

Mr Roberts said that while he completely agreed with the MP that the area was made up, if it was to be taken seriously it had to have a strong leader.

He said: “It hasn’t been embraced by the local people or local businesses. But if we are to move forward we need a strong leader with a good business background.

“Someone who can attract investment into the area and create jobs. This has to be a mayor.”

Mr Roberts said the mayor would have to be independent of politics and cannot belong to a particular political party.

He said that he had run for mayor in the past, but had pulled out because it was too political.

He said: “It has to be about business and attracting investment but it was too much about politics and I believe a Mayor needs to be independent.

“I understand the costs that having a mayor entails, but it is a necessity in order for us to move forward. It is also something that has to be voted for by the people not politicians.”