Councils are facing a difficult financial time due to high inflation and demand for services.

However, that doesn’t mean that new projects aren’t being started. In Middlesbrough, spades will be in the ground this year for a number of schemes that could transform the town.

We sat down with the council’s head of economic growth and infrastructure Sam Gilmore to hear about the projects getting underway in 2023. He provided an update on plans including apartments in a vacant high-rise in the town centre, two new community centres, a Middlehaven school, and the empty House of Fraser.

Speaking about why the council needs to regenerate, Mr Gilmore said: “Town centres are changing, everyone is shopping online, out of town [shopping centres] are completely dominant. People are just not consuming in the same way and it’s unlikely to return to where it was, we just have to adapt to a new way of working.

“Middlesbrough town centre was probably one of the most vulnerable. We have to diversify and understand what we are doing so a town centre is somewhere people want to spend time rather than need to spend time.”

He added that Gen Z – people born between 1997 and 2012 – were less likely to drive and were drinking less. Therefore, towns had to become more accessible without a car and nightlife also needed to change to be less about alcohol and more about experiences.

As part of those plans, Captain Cook Square will become a new leisure hub. Work is well underway for esports site The Wired Lobby to take over the former Peacocks store (with hopes to open at the end of March/start of April) and Level 7 entertainment venue Level X to open in the former TJ Hughes.

Mr Gilmore said: “Obviously, we can’t go kicking out tenants so we don’t want to unsettle people at the same time, and they have rights under their leases so it’s not an overnight job. I know that frustrates people a lot of the time but it’s completely fair and reasonable.”

He went on to add: “At Captain Cook Square, we will see a major transition. By the end of 2023 we will have four to six tenants in there with more to come.”

As for new schemes, the council will also have to align with the mayoral development corporation (MDC) that is being set up by the Tees Valley Combined Authority covering the town centre and Middlehaven. The body will be able to draw on wide-ranging powers to acquire, develop, hold and dispose of land and property, and develop infrastructure to regenerate the areas.

Mr Gilmore said: “Ben [Houchen] has the ear of the highest figures in government and if that can access additional funds then fantastic.” He said Centre North East would be on the MDC’s radar – the council is in talks with the owner but they are yet to settle on a viable scheme.

Another high-rise in the town centre that is very likely to make some progress this year is Church House. The council’s economic growth head said it was a symbolic building and action needed to be taken. The council has coughed up £1.4m from its Future High Streets Fund pot to breathe life back into the building which has been largely unused since 1996.

The cash was needed for the scheme, which could cost up to £12m, as without it, developer Jomast would not consider it viable. This is because the amount of money the company would make in rent would not be worth the investment.

Mr Gilmore said an agreement was currently being reached on the work needed to improve the outside appearance of the structure, but construction workers should be on site this year.

Over at Gurney House, Jomast is developing proposals based on office space and residential. Transforming this building has become more viable following the success of Centre Square and Albert North office spaces.

AXA UK is set to move into Six Centre Square – the global insurance firm will be handed the keys shortly and is expected to be in the building by summer. The new office – which will house 450 of its Teesside staff – was bought by the Tees Valley Combined Authority while Middlesbrough Council also contributed a £2m grant to the project from its Towns Fund allocation.

The council is also waiting to hear back about two Levelling Up fund bids it submitted to the government. One is for cash to develop The Crown pub on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough that’s stood empty since it abruptly shut its doors in January 2015.

The other is to redevelop the House of Fraser building – the proposals are for a food hall and independent retailers on the ground floor, along with informal office use, personal services and cultural space on the other floors.

A decision on the bids was expected in the Autumn Statement but that never came. A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities confirmed that an announcement is now expected by the end of January.

Explaining the motivation behind the regeneration, Mr Gilmore said: “The council operates on 25% of what it operated on a decade ago, so decisions and prioritisations have to be made more than they have ever had to be made.

“As a generally deprived area, when there is an economic downturn, demand for our services increases, so there is more pressure with fewer resources to deal with it. It’s not shiny buildings for shiny buildings’ sake, we want to improve the life choices for people in Middlesbrough and the Tees Valley.”

He went on to add: “We have plenty of talent it just goes elsewhere, we export it, and we need to retain it. By making more lifestyle changes and making it a more appealing place to build a career, a family and a life, that’s how you solve it.”

Over in Middehaven, work is expected on site this year to start building some of the 500 homes in St Hilda’s. Drawings submitted as part of the proposals show a mix of townhouses, maisonettes, and apartments with studios and ground floor accommodation.

There should also be construction workers starting on the new site for Outwood Riverside – the scheme has been plagued by delays which means it will no longer be opening in September 2023. Students and teachers waiting for the new site to open are temporarily based at Russell Street.

Outside of the town centre, progress is also expected at the new Southlands and Nunthorpe community centres. A construction date was originally penned in for November 2022 for the £3.7m Southlands centre but Mr Gilmore said the scheme will be granted planning approval and work will start this year.

In Nunthorpe, two sites have been vying to be the new location for the £1m community centre. Nunthorpe Parish Council, the Community Council and the Institute are all keen for the new hub to be next to the GP surgery on Stokesley Road.

While the Nunthorpe & Marton Playing Fields Association (NMPFA) wants to expand its current site on Guisborough Road. A decision on which scheme will move forward is expected soon and planning approval should be granted by the end of the year.