Connected to culture, lifestyle and sport

A year-round programme of festivals, events and sporting fixtures for all the family has firmly established the Borough of Stockton on the cultural world map.

Festival highlights include Stockton International Riverside Festival, Billingham International Folklore Festival and Stockton Christmas Markets Festival. A new river-based event: Take to the Tees, has been launched and further opportunities to enhance these areas will continue to add to the Borough of Stockton's appeal and support its ongoing economic growth.

Stockton town centre's historic streetscapes are being brought back to life with contemporary relevance, and investment continues to be made in the cultural quarter with improvements to its quaint ginnels and yards, so that its unique heritage and character can be enjoyed by future generations.

A year-round programme of events for all the family has firmly established the Borough of Stockton on the cultural world map. Stockton's close proximity to Middlesbrough and the excellent transport links between the two centres place attractions such as MIMA, Middlesbrough's Institute of Modern Art, and the Riverside football stadium within easy reach . In the north of the Borough, Wynyard is home to world-class championship golf at the prestigious Wynyard Club. One of our most widely enjoyed recreational facilities is the River Tees itself. The White Water Course at the Tees Barrage is being brought up to Olympic standard, creating a world-class venue for international, national and regional events as well as broadening the already vast number of ways in which people here can enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle.

We want our living environments to be as inspirational as our working ones. Stockton Borough is working successfully to provide a mix of quality accommodation at pricing levels to suit all. Existing housing areas such as Mandale, Hardwick and Parkfield are undergoing exciting transformations. Prime development locations along the River Tees, for example at Bowesfield and North Shore, have secured private sector investment and some of the most prestigious housing developments in the whole of the Tees Valley can be found in Yarm, Wynyard and Ingleby Barwick.

Saltholme Nature Reserve Thriving Town Centres are a key element in Tees Valley's living, working and leisure experience, and Stockton Borough is very fortunate in having both historic market towns and transforming cosmopolitan centres.

Yarm is a prime visitor destination as well as the heart of its community, its chic shops and eateries adorning the widest cobbled high street in England.

Thornaby Town Centre is emerging from major improvements with a new retail centre that has already attracted a variety of new stores, and Billingham is set to see a similarly enhanced programme of redevelopment.

Norton's tree-lined high street seamlessly blends a retail hub with a charming rural atmosphere. And plans are in development to evolve Stockton town centre with its own unique experiences.

Stockton Borough encompasses a wealth of award-winning green spaces such as the magnificent 100-acre Preston Park, which have helped Stockton Council win gold in the esteemed Northumbria in Bloom competition four years in a row. The Borough is also ideally located for easy access to the many leisure attractions of North East England and North Yorkshire, and is close to both coast and countryside.

Find out more, including information about what to see and do, and of course, where to stay, take a look at www.visitstockton.co.uk.

Healthy attitudes, happy living: It's all connected.

Did you know?

Yarm has been voted as having Britain's Best High Street by BBC Breakfast viewers.
Stockton International Riverside Festival has been voted Best Event in North East England by the Journal Cultural Awards.
The newly-opened RSPB Saltholme Reserve has won the Constructing Excellence North East 2009 award for sustainability.