• Contact
  • About
DONATE
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
North East Bylines
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Region
  • Opinion
AUDIO
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Region
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
North East Bylines
Home Business

Part 5 Teesside airport: does Houchen have any mates at Stobart’s?

Throughout the report the joint venture partner is referred to as ‘the preferred operator’, but on page fifty-one of the document there is an apparent lapse in their editing, where Stobart is named where presumably ‘preferred operator’ should be.

A S HunterbyA S Hunter
03-12-2020 12:35 - Updated On 06-04-2022 11:38
in Business, Economy, North East, Politics, Region, Teesside
Reading Time: 3 mins
A A
Teesside airport Part 5

The joy of all things, CC BY-SA 4.0

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The selection of Stobart Aviation as the joint venture partner in the regeneration of Teesside Airport, it seems, was never in any doubt as it looks as if the partnership was decided upon in advance of the report and business plan being written.  The plan merely seems to be being used ex post facto to justify Houchen’s preferred corporate structure.

There is no evidence that the Stobart company, or Eddie Stobart as an individual, has donated to Houchen’s campaign, his donors are largely local business people. The association with Stobart, according to the preamble to the business plan, goes back to when he was a Stockton councillor and came into contact with people from Stobart Energy (Stobart Holdings is basically made up of Stobart Aviation and Stobart Energy). Stobart Energy is involved in the project to build a biomass plant at Port Clarence, for which they received £495,000 incentive payment from the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).  That plant, as far as we know, has never opened. 

Throughout the report the joint venture partner is referred to as ‘the preferred operator’, and in one table TVCA Chief Executive Julie Gilhespie is charged with identifying one by March 2019. However, on page fifty-one of the document there is an apparent lapse in their editing, and in a table Stobart is named where presumably  ‘preferred operator’ should be.

The business plan also has a long section on the non-monetary benefits of the various options for airport ownership which is quite explicit that there is a public relations benefit to having known companies come to the Tees Valley, as it demonstrates to the world that the region’s economy is expanding and open for business.  But that PR exercise comes at a cost. In this instance it is the doubt that in his rush to attract big names to Teesside Houchen has, in the case of Stobart Aviation, brought in an operator that the airport did not really need at little business risk to the private company.


  • Part 1 Teesside Airport: “The people’s airport is safe in our hands”
  • Part 2 Teesside Airport: “Teesside is taking off”
  • Part 3 Teesside Airport: airport competition
  • Part 4 Teesside Airport: Ben Houchen’s international airport – public ownership, private control

Previous Post

Dance ballerina dance!

Next Post

Covid-19: a catastrophe for women

A S Hunter

A S Hunter

Related Posts

Conservative logo on Union flag
Opinion

Immigration policy: how the party of family values truly values your family

byRobin Tudge
December 8, 2023
Newcastle Civic Centre 
Tyneside

Newcastle City Council unveils youth justice plan

byStephen Lambert
December 8, 2023
Gaza Oct 23
Opinion

Gaza’s statistics of death

byDavid Keys
December 7, 2023
hands holding candle
Community

75 years since Universal Declaration of Human Rights: celebration at Sunderland Minster

byNorth East Bylines
December 6, 2023
Margaret Thatcher
North East

In praise of Thatcher: has Starmer gone too far?

byJulia Mazza
December 5, 2023
Next Post
Covid catastrophe for women

Covid-19: a catastrophe for women

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDER

Subscribe to our newsletters
CHOOSE YOUR NEWS
Follow us on social media
CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORMS
Download our app
ALL OF BYLINES IN ONE PLACE
Subscribe to our gazette
CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SUSTAINABILITY
Make a monthly or one-off donation
DONATE NOW
Help us with our hosting costs
SIGN UP TO SITEGROUND
We are always looking for citizen journalists
WRITE FOR US
Volunteer as an editor, in a technical role, or on social media
VOLUNTEER FOR US
Something else?
GET IN TOUCH
Previous slide
Next slide

LATEST

Conservative logo on Union flag

Immigration policy: how the party of family values truly values your family

December 8, 2023
Newcastle Civic Centre 

Newcastle City Council unveils youth justice plan

December 8, 2023
Riders on the storm by author Alastair McIntosh

Book Review: Riders on the Storm by Alastair McIntosh

December 7, 2023
The word humanity

Remember the call

December 7, 2023
Gaza Oct 23

Gaza’s statistics of death

December 7, 2023
hands holding candle

75 years since Universal Declaration of Human Rights: celebration at Sunderland Minster

December 6, 2023

MOST READ

David Lammy

Lammy’s mood music – sidestepping towards Rejoin?

December 2, 2023
Margaret Thatcher

In praise of Thatcher: has Starmer gone too far?

December 5, 2023
Gaza Oct 23

Gaza’s statistics of death

December 7, 2023
Polling station

Proportional Representation vs First Past the Post

November 6, 2022 - Updated On May 23, 2023

BROWSE BY TAGS

Audio Beach Brexit Business castle leazes climate activism Co. Durham comedy cost of living crisis Culture defra democracy ducklings Economy Education Environment fire and rescue firefighter Food & Drink food poverty hardwick festival Health Health & Care Home Affairs just stop oil Lifestyle Local Lockdown Northumberland Peace peoples theatre Performance Politics pride month refugee rescue Science Teesside the good life TV & Radio Tynemouth Tyneside Ukraine volunteer Wearside

We are a not-for-profit citizen journalism publication. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in the North East and beyond.

North East Bylines is a trading brand of Bylines Network Limited, which is a partner organisation to Byline Times.

Learn more about us

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Authors
  • Complaints
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Letters
  • Privacy
  • Network Map
  • Network RSS Feeds
  • Submission Guidelines

© 2023 North East Bylines. Powerful Citizen Journalism

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • UK News
    • Transport
    • World News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • Music
    • Poetry
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Technology
    • Trade
  • Donate
  • Newsletter sign up
  • Boriiis Cartoons
  • Authors
  • Audio
CROWDFUNDER

© 2023 North East Bylines. Powerful Citizen Journalism

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In