Doubt over whether Labour will honour pledge on Government’s final £6 million for Tyne Bridge works
There are question marks over millions of pounds worth of Government funding promised for the restoration of the Tyne Bridge. Six months after major repairs to the iconic bridge began, council bosses are still waiting for ministers to confirm that they will hand over the final GBP6 million pledged for the project. The Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed earlier this year, after months of frustration and delay, that it would provide an initial GBP35.2 million towards the overall GBP41.4 million cost of fixing up both the Tyne Bridge and a section of the Central Motorway.
But it remains unclear whether a pledge that the Government would pay for the entirety of the scheme, which was made under Rishi Sunak’s Network North programme following the scrapping of HS2’s northern leg, will be honoured. As they prepared to unveil the first restored sections of the bridge on Wednesday, city transport officials confirmed that they have yet to receive confirmation that the new Labour[1] administration will stick to the offer. Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service whether the remaining GBP6.2 million of funding would be delivered to Newcastle and Gateshead[2] councils, the DfT pointed to a statement made by Labour transport secretary Louise Haigh in which she announced a review of the department’s spending in light of what she claimed was GBP2.9 billion of “unfunded transport commitments” made by the Conservatives.
If the extra funding for the Tyne Bridge and Central Motorway is not delivered, the two councils would be left to foot the bill themselves. Pamela Holmes, Newcastle City Council[3]‘s assistant director of transport, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the authority was continuing to lobby for the cash itself and through North East mayor Kim McGuinness. Ms Haigh said in July: “The financial inheritance this government has received is extremely challenging.
The previous administration has left a GBP22 billion public spending gap this year alone – GBP2.9bn of which is unfunded transport commitments. Communities up and down the country have been given hope for new transport infrastructure, with no plans or funds to deliver them. This Government will not make that mistake.
This Government will rebuild our economic foundations whilst restoring transparency and public trust. “In recent weeks, the gap between promised schemes and the money available to deliver them has been made clear to me. There has been a lack of openness with the public about the status of schemes – some of which were cancelled or paused by the previous government, without proper communication to the public.”
She added that the internal review of the DfT’s capital spending portfolio would “move quickly to make recommendations about current and future schemes”, though there has yet to be any news on the Tyne Bridge situation more than two months since that statement was made. On Wednesday, the first areas of the bridge to have been repaired and repainted in the crossing’s traditional green colour were unveiled to city officials and media on a special tour. Scaffolding around the Gateshead side of the bridge is due to be gradually removed over the coming months, at which point the public will have sight of the progress on the restoration.
Contractors Esh will soon move the refurbishment work over to the bridge’s Newcastle tower, before then moving up its famous arch. The maintenance project, the first significant repairs the Tyne Bridge has undergone for more than 20 years, is expected to be finished in the summer of 2028 – shortly before the grade II* listed crossing’s 100th anniversary. A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “We await confirmation from the Department of Transport on the Network North fund, which would provide an additional GBP6 million for the Tyne Bridge and central motorway upgrade.
As we have set out previously, due to rising construction costs and inflation since the original bid was submitted in 2019, this meant we had to reprofile the extent of the planned works to prioritise the Tyne Bridge refurbishment. Any additional funding would be very welcome and allow us to revisit the scope of works.”
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References
- ^ Labour (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Gateshead (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Newcastle City Council (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
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