Darlington has provided a national blueprint for successfully devolving power away from Whitehall, the latest Northern Echo Impact event heard.
The multi departmental Darlington Economic Campus, which employs around 1,500 people, was heralded as the best current example of how the new Prime Minister's vision of relocating decision makers to the regions can work in practice.
The town's new £21m STEM Centre of Excellence should also be a source of pride as it gives young people the tools to push the North East forward in creating highly skilled and well-paid jobs, guests were told.
A panel of regional business leaders came together at Darlington College to discuss how major projects and innovations across the region have brought a sense of pride to the North East.
Keynote speaker Ellie Fotheringham, Deputy Director for Strategy, Planning and Budget Group of HM Treasury, Darlington, gave an overview of how the economic campus has revitalised Darlington.
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Ellie was joined by a panel comprising of Rose Rouse, CEO of Darlington Borough Council, David Gartland, Principal of hosts Darlington College, Rachel Anderson, Assistant Director of Policy at the North East Chamber of Commerce, Mark Stamper, Head of Place, Planning and Growth at Durham County Council, Huw Lewis, Assistant Director of Communications at the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, David Hodgson, UK Bus Territory Manager at Darlington engines giant Cummins and Sophie Walton, Director of Strategic Partnerships at CPI.
Ellie told how her department can be held up as an example of how regional devolution can work effectively.
She said: "I think it has been used as a really good example of how relocation has worked really well and how it's made a real difference to the way that the Government does business.
"And I think, particularly with the advent of Number 10 of the North and Andy Burnham's agenda, it's been really great for us to be able to say: "Here are the lessons we've learned from setting up the campus in Darlington."
"I would say moving jobs out of London is nothing new and we've been talking in Whitehall for some time about how we do this, but I think what's different about DEC is it's not just a back office function.
"We have a model where 20% of our teams are based in Darlington and also 20% of our senior civil servants. So there's a real emphasis on having the same experience and the same functions in Darlington that we do in London.
"We've had like a number of independent reports done which have heralded it as a success. I would say it's hard to capture some of the economic benefits but we think bringing the DEC into Darlington has probably done some really great things for the town and the economy. "
The benefit of the campus doesn't begin and end in Darlington, however, she argued.
Ellie said: "I think the benefit of the campus is national, we're an out of London organisation that is doing policy differently, and what we're doing in DEC is as relevant to people in Cornwall as it is anywhere else. So I think we're really ambitious in terms of the reach that we have, and I think it's about doing government in a different way rather than necessarily being about local benefit, although that's obviously important as well.
The full panel line-up for the event (Image: NQ)
"People identify with DEC as an institution much more than they do with their department and I think that's really helpful. All of us care about economic growth, we all have slightly different perspectives on that, but actually being able to work simultaneously on different policy areas has been really useful."
Darlington College's David Gartland spoke of his pride in the forthcoming STEM centre and the difference it can make to young lives in the Tees Valley.
The facility will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, providing training linked to some of the fastest-growing areas of the economy, from artificial intelligence and robotics to green energy, advanced manufacturing and data-led innovation.
It is hoped it will create connections between Darlington’s regeneration ambitions and the practical skills businesses will need if they are to expand in the years ahead.
More than 600 students are expected to take full-time STEM courses, apprenticeships and undergraduate or postgraduate programmes at the three-storey facility, which will include an auditorium, a 350-square-metre community workspace, science and data laboratories, IT suites, seminar rooms and social spaces.
The centre will sit within Darlington’s growing education and innovation quarter, close to Darlington College, Teesside University, the Science Park, CPI’s Darlington operation and other organisations working in research and technology.
David Gartland said: "We had the science park out the back of the college and we were really keen to do something that was going be impactful.
"We had talked a lot about the industries, the careers that are coming to Darlington and and the broader Tees Valley and the problem we had with STEM is it's a very exclusive group of people who were studying it.
"And what we want to do is create opportunities. We want to make sure that underrepresented groups were represented in the STEM industries. We know there high value careers, we know that people can get a good job with prospects, but we wanted to make sure that underrepresented groups were able to access those jobs.
"And I think Darlington's a perfect example of that. So we worked with the Government's Pride in Place in the first instance. They were fantastic in terms of committing £5 million towards a STEM centre because they could see the value of it.
"And then Lola McEvoy, our MP, said she heard we needed some money. And she got us in the room with Treasury and the Department of Business and Trade.
"We pitched the idea and were there probably in 45 minutes to an hour and they were absolutely delighted with what we were trying to do. If we invest in the community, we create jobs, we create opportunities, then that will lead to economic growth. "
- There will be a full report on the event as part of Wednesday's eight BUSINESSiQ pages in The Northern Echo