THE leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council is the latest to publicly support the mayor's plan to buy Durham Tees Valley Airport.

Cllr Sue Jeffrey said she will support the ambitious £40m scheme despite reservations about the costs associated with the buy-out.

She is the fourth member of the five council leaders on the Tees Valley Combined Authority to confirm she will vote in favour of the Mayor's proposed ten year Investment Plan.

The last remaining council leader to speak publicy about his voting intention is Middlesbrough Mayor Dave Budd.

Outlinging her reason for supporting the scheme, Cllr Jeffrey said said: "On Thursday the Leaders of the five local Councils and the Tees Valley Mayor will meet to consider our new Tees Valley ten year Investment Plan which includes the proposals to buy Durham Tees Valley Airport.

"I and the other Labour Leaders fought a long battle to bring devolution to the Tees Valley and I am proud our efforts have resulted in this new ten year Investment Plan setting out spending proposals worth more than £588m.

"The Plan is funded by cash from our devolution deal and will deliver projects across Redcar and Cleveland and the Tees Valley that will genuinely grow our economy, deliver improved transport and ensure that local people have the skills they need to get local jobs that are full-time and pay a decent wage.

"But our devolution cash is not limitless and we still have to make choices about where it can best be invested to support a better future for all the people of the Tees Valley. The Mayor’s airport deal is one of those choices. It is the biggest single project in the Plan that is funded only from our own resources and it has been allocated £75m of devolution cash (£40m to buy the airport and surrounding land, up to £20m to cover operating losses and £15m for improvements).

"If it fails then just over half of that cost can be recovered by selling the land. Not one penny of the funding is being provided by the private sector and not one bit of the financial risk will be taken by the operator, all the money comes from us and all the financial risk is taken by us.

"Does that add up to a good choice for the people of Redcar and Cleveland? Only time will tell… Despite all the hype, there will be no separate vote this week to ‘save the airport’. The decision is whether or not to support our ten year Investment Plan that includes bringing much needed funds to this Borough.

"These are resources that will help us address the poverty caused by low pay and part-time work, under-funded schools, poor access to training, limited and expensive public transport and the need to invest to secure a sustainable future for our industry, our businesses and our high-streets.

"These are the things that I care about and work for every day and where I want to see every penny of our money spent. They are my priority and my focus. That is why, despite my real and continuing concerns about the costs and the risks associated with the Mayor’s airport plan, I will be voting for our ten year Investment Plan on Thursday and then working to ensure that every single part of it, including the airport, has the best possible chance of success."

The meeting to discuss the plan is due to take place on Thursday morning.

The result of a consultation by North East England Chamber of Commerce with its Tees Valley members following the publication of the proposed airport business plan by the Mayor’s office has shown that the vast majority of them are in favour of the proposal.


As part of the research, businesses were asked which routes were a priority for them and the majority cited EU travel as the main destination.

They also said it was important that there were more convenient connections and better interlining at Schiphol Airport for forward travel to Europe and the rest of the world.


Members stated that they appreciated the investment needed was a substantial level but it was a risk worth taking. They also said there would be significant level of work to be done to attract new customers if the airport was to succeed.

Businesses were also very aware of the cost of flights which needed to be monitored to ensure they represented good value for money.


There was also recognition that this forms part of the wider investment plan for the Tees Valley and welcomed the other measures set out in that plan.


Rachel Anderson, Chamber assistant director (policy) for the Tees Valley said: “From our discussions with businesses it is very clear our members see the development of Tees Valley airport as a priority for our devolved funds. There is now a huge amount of work to do to ensure it has a successful future.”