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Hotel Wars


Things are hotting up on Teesside as two local authorities battle it out with who has the most and best hotels, with Middlesbrough currently leading the way in terms of new hotels, planned hotels and the investment from private companies that comes with them. Meanwhile Stockton looks to build their own hotel, all 125 rooms of it, but who will take the spoils and be named king of the developments (for 2016 at least)

In recent years Middlesbrough has stepped up its efforts to create jobs, boost the local economy and bring in vital investment, yet in Stockton they have refused hotels due to the location of where private investors wanted to build them and pulled out the wildcard of we will build our own. 

There is one thing that I have been unable to grasp over the last few years, in documents of Stockton Borough Council they claim to have a great working partnership between them and Middlesbrough, yet the ideas are distant and plain to see. One council wants private investment at all cost, the other wants to pick and choose and tell the investors what to do and where to do it. 

Many of my regular readers know that I have been strong in pointing out that Stockton Borough Council refused a hotel, pub and restaurant due to it being situated in Thornaby and if it was built it would have "detrimental impact on Stockton High Street" - Yet they were open to offers to have one built on North Shore closer to the High Street and in fact the council are now proposing to build one just off the high street. But who needs jobs and private investment, when you have a council like Stockton. 

Now don't get me wrong, I think a majority of the staff at Stockton Council are great and do their jobs well, but unfortunately those elected to represent the views of the tax payer keep forgetting that they need to include residents in decision making. It would be like signing the Devolution Deal and then asking a week later to have a vote on whether to sign it or not ... Oh wait ... yep that actually happened.

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