Teesside Teesside Teesside () is the conurbation in the north east of England around the urban centre of Middlesbrough that is primarily made up of the towns Billingham, Redcar, Stockton-on-Tees, Thornaby and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of Teesside. Teesside remains an important centre for heavy industry, although the number of people employed has declined. Traditional industries, primarily steelmaking (British Steel) and chemical manufacture (Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI)), have been replaced to a large extent by high technology activities, science development and service sector roles.
County Borough of Teesside two-tier system of counties and districts. One of the new counties "Area No.4" was based on the Teesside conurbation. The county was eventually named Cleveland on the suggestion of several local authorities in the area. Originally it was intended that Teesside would continue as non-metropolitan district of Cleveland. Peter Walker, Secretary of State for the Environment stated in January 1972: "It would be wholly wrong... to divide again the County Borough of Teesside... it has made all its investment in a county borough of that size, and it would be wholly wrong to tear it to pieces." However, the boundaries