Ben Houchen authority sold land to private investors below market value

The land, which was remediated at great public expense, was sold by STDC subsidiary company South Tees Developments Limited (STDL) to Teesworks Ltd - the public-private company that’s 90% owned by local property developers led by Chris Musgrave and Martin Corney.

Once the freehold was legally obtained by Teesworks Ltd, they sold a 40 year lease to Australian financial giant Macquarie who reportedly paid an upfront fee of £75m - potentially handing Musgrave, Corney and the other private investors an instant profit of £60m for their role as middlemen.

After being questioned by Private Eye about the £13m land valuation, STDC said that it was valued as such “for the purposes of the STDL accounts for 2021/22.” However, planning permission for the wind turbine monopile factory that’s currently being built - which would vastly increase any land’s value - was only given consent in June 2022; after the land’s initial valuation and before it was sold the following November.

Planning gain is a strategy used by property developers by which they obtain planning permission for assets that they own in order to increase their value.

Teesworks Ltd is given first refusal on any piece of land that’s remediated by the public STDC. As such, the private investors are covered by having remediation liabilities reside on the public’s balance sheet rather than their own.

STDC is refusing to comment on matters relating to Teesworks while the government conducts an investigation into its affairs. Membership of the three person review panel was announced last week, led by Lancashire County Council chief executive Angie Ridgwell. They’re expected to report their findings around the time of Parliament’s summer recess next month.