AXA UK CONFIRMED AS OCCUPIER OF NEW CENTRE SQUARE BUILDING

BlindBoyGrunt said:
I think that moving office work to out of town sites like Teesdale in Thornaby is a poor idea. Situating them in town centre locations will benefit the local hospitality industries like cafes, restaurants, pubs and hotels and also other businesses in the vicinity. Sticking them on a business park somewhere benefits nobody. We need to return to the past in order to increase footfall in commercial areas of Teesside.
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Teesdale is a 5 minute walk into Stockton town centre, hardly in the middle of nowhere.
 
Unravel_Morrison said:
They could well do, if they can make that area a hub where demand is sufficient that allows other companies to invest, brilliant.

The main priority really though should be to improve infrastructure and public transport networks particularly.

There's no point getting a hard on for a couple of trains to and from London when once you arrive in Boro, there's no way of easily getting around.
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Yes, this area desperately needs a much improved and integrated transport system, possibly a tram/light railway system to connect all parts of Middlesbrough, Thornaby and Stockton and to link in surrounding areas of Hartlepool, Redcar Guisborough etc. Reading about the pros and cons of the proposed 5000 seat arena in Redcar (that will probably not get built) people were concerned that it would be folly to build it in that location. Ideally it should be possible to have breakfast in Hartlepool, head to Stockton for a few drinks, on to the Riverside for the match, then into Boro for a bite to eat before going to Redcar for a nighttime gig. If you could plonk the Tees Valley area into Germany, people would have days exactly like that, on one ticket and with no designated driver required. In this country - outside of the capital and a few select areas- it's pretty difficult.
 
Johnny Vincents Motorbike said:
The issue could be around 'retention' of jobs on 'Teesside' - and Axa NOT axing Teesside & moving to Leeds or Newcastle.

the provision of a higher quality , facility and technology office space provides that option for Axa to take and keep the jobs on the banks of the Tees
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Quite true but AXA have over 20 centres all round GB.

I'm sure that there will be many reasons for that, but being able to play off local councils and funding agencies against each other for the next round of investment is a great position to be in.
 
Chris_Boro said:
A lot, including me when I worked there.
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But as an office worker, spending 8 hours a day in your building, would you not rather be in the centre of Stockton or Middlesbrough than in an area with little to offer? I'm sure that not all Teesdale based workers make the journey over the bridge whereas if they were in Stockton they could step out of the office and take their pick of places to eat or arrange a business lunch. On a sunny day in Centre Square they can lunch outside. I may be wrong here, it's just my perspective but I feel that centralised office buildings just feel so much better and also help the commercial centres to survive.
 
I bet Stockton Borough Council are pleased given their plans to demolish the Castlegate and turn the Town Centre and Riverside into a leisure area. It's just what they need 450 people relocated to the town next door.
 
BlindBoyGrunt said:
But as an office worker, spending 8 hours a day in your building, would you not rather be in the centre of Stockton or Middlesbrough than in an area with little to offer? I'm sure that not all Teesdale based workers make the journey over the bridge whereas if they were in Stockton they could step out of the office and take their pick of places to eat or arrange a business lunch. On a sunny day in Centre Square they can lunch outside. I may be wrong here, it's just my perspective but I feel that centralised office buildings just feel so much better and also help the commercial centres to survive.
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As long as they no longer want to drive to and from work. This could be a benefit but I bet most are going to be in for a shock when they realise how much it will cost them to park everyday.
 
BlindBoyGrunt said:
But as an office worker, spending 8 hours a day in your building, would you not rather be in the centre of Stockton or Middlesbrough than in an area with little to offer? I'm sure that not all Teesdale based workers make the journey over the bridge whereas if they were in Stockton they could step out of the office and take their pick of places to eat or arrange a business lunch. On a sunny day in Centre Square they can lunch outside. I may be wrong here, it's just my perspective but I feel that centralised office buildings just feel so much better and also help the commercial centres to survive.
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There's pro's and con's to both, we had an office in Boro Town centre as well and I much preferred walking into Stockton and by the river than walking into Boro Town centre.

Parking is a obvious major issue too. I have nothing against building new offices to attract new business as long as it's not at the detriment of other businesses and areas within Teesside.
 
junos_boots said:
As long as they no longer want to drive to and from work. This could be a benefit but I bet most are going to be in for a shock when they realise how much it will cost them to park everyday.
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Absolutely, this is why we need a decent cheap transport system which serves the whole area. There was an article in the local press this week about people not being able to take up new jobs at Teesport because they don't have cars. It really shouldn't be a problem for a site that large.
 
fmttmadmin said:
The new building - Six Centre Square - is being funded and bought by the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority.
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The Tees Valley Mayor isn't funding anything, I know he has awarded himself a huge pay rise this year, but he really isn't funding this or anything else.

The Combined Authority may well be funding some of it- previously we would have got funding for this from the EU, of course the combined authority is financed by our UK taxes; it's odd that Houchen doesn't mention his in his fantasy press release.
 
SmallTown said:
If some of those profits are being invested in Middlesbrough why is this a bad thing?
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Middlesbrough Council is also contributing a £2m grant to the project from of its Towns Fund allocation which was provided by the government as part of the levelling up programme.

They (AXA) are only paying rent and I am sure it will be free/low business rates for a number of years.
 
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