Even though hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were invested in the Tees Valley project, which was built on the site of the former Redcar Steelworks, concerns were raised when private corporations ultimately came to own 90% of the shares.
Since 2015, the former Redcar Steelworks have been developed into a sizable industrial area with the goal of becoming a freeport to establish a shipping zone free of taxes.
According to Lord Ben Houchen, the mayor of Tees Valley Conservatives, it has brought in £2 billion in private sector investment and produced nearly 3,000 new employment.
However, the government requested an independent investigation of the location due to allegations that private corporations, who currently hold 90% of the project, had made money off of taxpayers.
The investigation declared that it had “no evidence to support allegations of corruption or illegality” when it released its report on Monday.
However, the assessment stated: “There are issues of governance and transparency that need to be addressed and a number of decisions taken by the bodies involved do not meet the standards expected when managing public funds.”
