A1 dualling and Leamside line among Rishi Sunak's North East transport promises
Watch Tom Sheldrick's report
Billions of pounds originally allocated for HS2 will now be spent on transport projects in the North East, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced.
Dualling the A1 from Morpeth to Ellingham and reopening the Leamside Line are among the policies to have been promised as part of Mr Sunak's "Network North".
Funding will also be made available for road schemes like opening the Blyth relief road and helping to transform local transport networks in North Yorkshire. The £2 bus scheme will also continue until December 2024.
The announcement was made as Mr Sunak confirmed HS2 would no longer reach Manchester with the £36 billion spent on a number of projects around the country instead.
The A1 project has been the subject of decades of campaigning, yet work has never begun despite former chancellor George Osborne having given it the go-ahead back in 2014.
It was pushed back again last month but should now be able to progress.
Speaking following the announcement, the leader of Northumberland County Council Glen Sanderson welcomed the news.
“I’m absolutely delighted," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. "I think it’s very important – there’s no denying that projects like getting the A1 upgrade done are incredibly important.
“It’s crucial spending and support we’re getting and I thoroughly appreciate that. Hopefully we will see more in the future, but I’m very pleased.”
Campaigners have also been pushing for a restoration of the Leamside Line for years after it originally closed to passengers in 1964. It will link the East Coast Main Line to the Durham Coast Line near Pelaw Metro and include a reopened station at Ferryhill.
Paul Howell, the Conservative MP for Sedgefield and vocal backer of the line, said: “This is a great day for our region and one that has been long overdue.
"Today heralds a new epoch in our region’s transport Infrastructure story and I am humbled to have played a part in securing this vital inheritance for our children’s future.”
However, reaction to the announcement was not universally positive with some doubting the Conservatives' ability to deliver on their promises.
Kim McGuinness, Labour’s candidate for North East mayor, warned that “after 13 years of broken Tory promises the chances of this latest offer being delivered in full are slim”.
She added: “We need better connections between the North East, Yorkshire and the North West, we need the Leamside Line in Durham reopening, we need buses brought back into public control, we need Metro investment for expansion and upgrading and we finally need the A1 fully dualled.
“The Government has been told the Metro system needs more than £500m to upgrade its signalling system before the system starts to fail completely in 2030. That’s non-negotiable, it needs urgent sign-off from the Government.
“But after this latest Tory transport axe, people across the North East will be asking themselves, can we trust this Government to deliver on any of its transport promises? They have promised investment again and again, and not delivered. No one wants to be the last fool to trust Rishi Sunak.”
Full list of North East transport pledges
75 per cent more funding for improved connectivity through the region
Dualling A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham.
£460 million for smaller road schemes including the Blyth Relief Road.
Reopening Ferryhill station and the Leamside line
Funding for contactless and smart ticketing
Fix potholes
£2 bus fare extended: More buses to industrial estates and business parks.
£1.8 bn for the North East from the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement 2 and HS2 funding.
£1 bn for Tees Valley.
£2.5 billion fund to transform local transport in 14 rural counties: This new money may finance projects like more electric buses in Harrogate and better bus-rail interchange in Scarborough.
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