Port Clarence is a small industrial village in Stockton-on-Tees, on the edge of the river Tees, and is part of Billingham South, the ward I represent. Port Clarence was developed in the early 19th century; its name is derived from the Duke of Clarence, later King William IV. The area was established primarily to serve as a port and industrial hub, with a focus on shipbuilding, ironworks, and chemical production. It grew in importance as industry expanded along the River Tees, benefiting from its strategic location for transportation and trade. By the mid-20th century, like many other industrial regions in the UK, Port Clarence faced economic decline due to shifts in industry and the reduction of heavy manufacturing. The decline of traditional industries led to significant social and economic challenges for the community, with a reduction in employment opportunities and a decline in local infrastructure.
Port Clarence today
Today, like many villages, Port Clarence has limited amenities in the village itself. It has a small primary school and two convenience stores. Everything else, residents have to travel for. Until 2019, residents could walk to Middlesbrough via the Transporter Bridge, but this has since been closed. They have one bus, the Stagecoach no.1. This takes residents to Hartlepool or Middlesbrough. However, Port Clarence is in the local authority of Stockton-on-Tees. Stockton-on-Tees Borough, and particularly Billingham, is where the residents’ secondary schools, GPs, dentists and school holiday activities are located. Residents of Port Clarence cannot easily get to Billingham on public transport. One big difference between Port Clarence and other more affluent villages without a bus service is that less than half of the population has access to a car, leaving residents very much isolated from the rest of the borough.
Public transport is the issue
The lack of public transport is easily the number 1 issue in Port Clarence. If a teenager attending Northfield school, who relies on the school bus, wants to go to an after-school club, or even just a GCSE revision session, they would need to get three buses to get home. One bus would take them to Billingham town centre, a second bus to Middlesbrough, and a third bus from Middlesbrough to Port Clarence. So many residents have told me their children simply do not attend after-school sessions, despite very much wanting to.
During the school holidays, the only time many children from Port Clarence can attend holiday activities is when they take place within Port Clarence. When it comes to secondary school leavers, Port Clarences’ young people are severely restricted on what colleges they can apply to by which ones they can easily get to on the bus. It is not just children and young people who are disadvantaged by the lack of public transport. Working-age adults need their own car or they are limited in their job applications to positions accessible by available bus routes, affecting their ability to commute to and from work. Elderly residents are even less likely to have access to a car, with one elderly resident regularly walking a six-mile round trip to Tesco in Billingham to do her food shop.
What is the solution?
So, how do we resolve this? Ultimately, Port Clarence needs a bus service directly to Billingham. Unfortunately, our buses are run by private companies, so if a particular route won’t make a profit, they have no incentive to provide that service. Last year, as ward councillors, we wrote to Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen asking him to bring buses under public control, and in the short-term, extend Tees Flex to Port Clarence. Tees Flex is an on-demand bus service, which is ordered like a taxi and an algorithm is meant to figure out the best route so multiple passengers can share the bus. Tees Flex was available to pick passengers up from areas with no bus service, which could take them to other destinations in the Tees Valley. As Port Clarence technically had a bus service, we were initially told that legislation would not allow this. However, in November, the Tees Valley Combined Authority extended Tees Flex to Port Clarence. Unfortunately, this has not worked as well as we had hoped. Residents cannot rely on the service, as it is regularly unavailable and residents have become stranded and unable to get home.
In March, Ben Houchen announced that the Tees Valley Combined Authority would be subsidising two new Stagecoach services, one of which was between Wynyard and Stockton High Street. Once again, Port Clarence was ignored. We wrote to the Tees Valley Combined Authority asking why this had happened. We were informed that the Transport Act (1985) prevented this because they are only able to subsidise in cases where a demand is not being met by the market. Despite there being demand for a direct bus service to Billingham that is not being met by the market, the TVCA can only subsidise a bus route close to an existing commercial route if it passes a ‘competition test’ and does not distort the local commercial bus market, making it more difficult to subsidise in this scenario.
There is a solution
However, there is an alternative. Under the Bus Services Act (2017), local authorities can have the power to take control of bus services under a franchising model. Ben Houchen can do this, but he chooses not to. Bringing bus services under public control would mean bus services could be run for social need, rather than for profit. This has been the model pursued by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and very similar to the model in London. Instead, when I raised this with him on social media, he blocked me the following day.
Labour’s candidate for Tees Valley Mayor, Chris McEwan, proposes a transformative approach to public transport by bringing bus services under public control, allowing routes and schedules to be set according to community needs. He also pledged to cap fares at £2 for all public transport and offer free travel for those under-18, addressing affordability and inclusivity, particularly for areas like Port Clarence, where access to reliable bus services is vital.
The community needs a more reliable and inclusive public transport system. The lack of direct bus routes to key locations like Billingham limits opportunities for education, employment, and essential services. By adopting a franchising model, the Tees Valley Combined Authority has the opportunity to meet the real needs of residents. This transformation could significantly improve the quality of life for those in Port Clarence and create a more connected and equitable community. But we need a mayor willing to do this.
