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Administrative timetable

Final Report

14 May 2024: The SAU has published its report providing advice to TVCA concerning the proposed subsidy to Hartlepool Borough Council for a leisure and wellbeing hub. The report sets out the SAUs evaluation of TVCAs Assessment of Compliance of its proposed subsidy with the requirements set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

• Final report (14.05.24)

Request from TVCA

2 April 2024: The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted a request for a report from Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) concerning a proposed subsidy to Hartlepool Borough Council for a leisure and wellbeing hub. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.

The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of TVCAs assessment of whether the subsidy scheme complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.

Information about the subsidy scheme provided by TVCA

Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) as Accountable Body for the Tees Valley Investment Plan is proposing to contribute public funding towards the cost of constructing a new active leisure and wellbeing hub. The beneficiary of the subsidy is Hartlepool Borough Council, which is the Project leader.

The estimated total value of the Project is 34.65 million which comprises a subsidy of 15.25 million from Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Tees Valley Combined Authority will be utilising funding for this project from the Tees Valley Investment Plan 2019 to 2020. The initial Tees Valley Combined Authority Investment Plan was agreed in March 2017 and set out our investment priorities for the period to 2021. A refreshed Investment Plan was agreed in January 2019 and set out the investment strategy for the period 2019-2029. The Devolution Deal with Government in 2015 provided for the transfer of significant powers for employment and skills, transport, and investment. The policy objectives that this subsidy aims to address is to sustainably grow the local economy by providing an attraction which people visit, which should bring about numerous effects, thereby attracting further investment and embedding skills that are useful for the employment of the local economy. Furthermore, the subsidy aims to address is to provide an opportunity for healthier lifestyles amongst the people of Hartlepool by providing increased opportunity to access leisure and well-being facilities.

Without providing a subsidy the market alone will not deliver the heath and leisure facility, job creation, visitor attraction, and visitor expenditure required across the region to meet the policy objectives. The subsidy will be provided to Hartlepool Borough Council over the delivery period of the Project (2024-2026) and will be conditional on the terms and conditions of a Funding Agreement that will be signed between TVCA and Hartlepool Borough Council.

Information for third parties

If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAUs evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning TVCAs proposed subsidy to for Hartlepool Borough Council for the leisure and wellbeing hub, please send your comments before 5pm on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.

Please send your submissions to us at SAU-HartlepoolLeisureCentre2024@cma.gov.uk copying the public authority at legal@teesvalley-ca.gov.uk.

Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).

Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission

The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with TVCA. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to TVCA together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy scheme or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with TVCA using the email address provided above.

The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.

For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.

Contacts

• CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk