Overview

Stockton-on-Tees is at the heart of the Tees Valley city region, a borough of contrasts and amazing potential. The Tees Valley is to the south of the North East region and includes Middlesbrough, Darlington, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland as well as the borough of Stockton-on-Tees. The borough is one of contrasts, a mix of busy town centres, urban residential areas and picturesque villages. In addition to Stockton there are four main townships: Billingham, Thornaby, Yarm and the new community of Ingleby Barwick.

Local people are optimistic about the future of the borough. Public service improvement and sustained investment in physical regeneration are transforming quality both of place and life for local people. As a result optimism about the future of the local economy is at a record high, and satisfaction with the Council is in the top 10% of national results. For services, there are many notable successes e.g. an impressive rate of improvement in GCSE performance has narrowed the gap significantly between local and national results;  overall crime levels are the lowest ever; our Borough is one of the cleanest and best presented in the country; assessments of Children’s Services rate them as amongst the highest performing in the country.

This turnaround follows a 30 year decline, which saw the local economy’s manufacturing base contract, leading to significant unemployment and deprivation. In the past, Stockton’s economy had a narrow industrial base and a consequent ‘dependency’ culture with relatively low levels of education and entrepreneurship. The physical environment was poor and largely post-industrial. 

Sustained community leadership by the Council and its private, voluntary and public sector partners over the last 10 years has transformed this situation. The economy is now stronger and more diverse. New housing, schools, town centre facilities, businesses and residential areas around a cleaner, greener riverside represent real physical changes. Our Councillors and LSP, Stockton Renaissance, have driven a strategy to ‘promote achievement and tackle disadvantage’. Stockton is leading the Tees Valley’s ambitious city-region plans to drive a further step-change in economic performance across the sub-region. We are the largest borough in the Tees Valley and the only one experiencing significant population growth.

Areas of affluence lie alongside areas of disadvantage. The borough is one of the most polarised in England, with 17 of our 117 Super Output Areas (SOAs) in the top 20% most affluent wards in England, and 40 within the 20% most deprived. Across the borough residents are significantly more optimistic about the future than in 2000 (a 23% net improvement) 26% believe the borough will improve but, remarkably, in neighbourhood renewal areas this rises to 41%. 

Demographic

Our population is 189,100 but by 2029 we expect this to grow to 204,000. We are experiencing significant shifts in the make-up of the population, with rising numbers of older people but a decline in children and young people. By 2029 there will be 3% fewer children but 62% more people over 65. The proportion of residents from black and minority ethnic communities is also rising, from 1.6% in 1991 to 2.8% in 2001 (over 5,000 more people) and we expect this trend to continue, not least because 34% of our current BME population are children, compared with 21% of the White population. We have more disabled residents (19.9% of residents report a limiting long term illness compared with an England average of 17.9%; 7.4% of the population report permanent sickness or disability compared with an England average of 5.3%). This is in part due to our ageing population. These changes have significant implications and are factored into planning future public services, including building schools for the future, social care and health provision.

Employment, Economy and Regeneration

We are fully committed to making a positive difference to people’s lives through regeneration and community development. Our exciting and progressive programme of major redevelopment is transforming the borough. Projects ranging from housing schemes and town centre development to rural conservation and river based development contribute to the most significant and ambitious regeneration programme in the borough’s history. Our community leadership role extends beyond the borough to the city region including a focus on developing the urban core of the Tees Valley in partnership with Middlesbrough Borough Council. Residents say that Stockton is improving and that they are optimistic for the future.

Significant improvements in employment levels are the result of our focused approach to economic development, including initiatives in our most deprived communities through successful neighbourhood renewal programmes. We actively promote business growth and our Employability Consortium ensures a joined up approach to employment issues from key agencies. We have successfully reduced the gap between employers’ needs and the skills of the labour pool through educational and training opportunities. Physical improvements have made the borough  more attractive to businesses; Stockton is now a location of choice for several national and international companies, driving up land values and further improving the desirability of the borough for business. Our ambitious regeneration strategy provides an integrated framework for developing a better quality urban environment and using physical regeneration as a driver for economic growth and diversification across the borough.