The Teesworks review won’t put controversy around the development to bed

The reason many taxpayers are up in arms about the project is because it is their money on the line and there are serious questions as to whether they are receiving value for money.

And try as hard as he may, the Mayor of Tees Valley, Lord Houchen’s spin won’t fool anyone.

Yes, the report says there is no industrial-scale corruption but it also states that a “number of decisions taken by the bodies involved do not meet the standards expected when managing public funds”.

That’s a damning indictment of the way the project has been handled and will only raise further questions as to the fiscal probity of the public body South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) and its parent the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).

The review says that “there are issues of governance and transparency” and that there is a lack of “expected sufficiency of transparency and oversight across the system to evidence value for money”.

This is alarming given one of the most controversial aspects of the project has been the sale of a lease on land for a cash sum of £93m. Land that had been remediated at the public’s expense and was disposed of for £15m despite a previous valuation showing a market value of £30m. The £93m lease was for the benefit of the private partners.

There is no denying that the panel which produced this week’s report contained the relevant experience and expertise. But it didn’t have the scale and scope to satisfy relevant stakeholders in this matter. The only way forward is for the project to be referred to the National Audit Office so that it can conduct a thorough investigation. Only then can taxpayers be satisfied that the project is providing value for money.