The corporation was established as part of an initiative by the future Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine, in February 1987 during the Second Thatcher ministry.

[1] Board members were directly appointed by the minister and overrode local authority planning controls to spend government money on infrastructure.

Circa 1,295 acres (5.24 km2) of derelict land was reclaimed and 22 miles (35 km) of new road and footpaths put in place.

[9] Most of its roles were taken over by the four local authorities of Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland as well as the regional development agency OneNorthEast and English Partnerships on its dissolution in 1998.

[10] In 1998, the corporation was condemned by Labour MP Ashok Kumar for having left a legacy of limited and "often inappropriate and threadbare development".