Eston, Billingham, and Tees Valley transport: Answered and unanswered questions from last week’s budget

Previous financial commitments to projects in the Tees Valley were either upheld or not mentioned during the budget last week.

Rumours swirling ahead of last week’s budget were, for the most part, either confirmed or quashed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves when she delivered her remarks in the House of Commons. However, one big decision for Teesside is still up in the air, funding for the Tees Valley £978m transport plan.

A week before the budget, concerned Conservative councillors in Redcar and Cleveland wrote to local Labour MP Anna Turley, detailing “rumours that at next week’s budget, Rachel Reeves may be set to axe the Government’s Long Term Plan for Towns (LTPT).” In the letter, they added that the “£20m from the LTPT is crucial for the future of Eston, Normanby, Teesville, South Bank, and Grangetown”. The funding had first been announced by the previous government.

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Following the budget, Ms Turley responded to the TS6 Conservative councillors, stating that she was “delighted” that “the £20m remains committed to the people of Eston”. She said that this had been possible due to the Labour government’s efforts to stabilise Britain’s economy as well as “tough decisions” made on tax, spending and welfare. The Labour MP added that the secured money was “reformed into a new regeneration programme”.

As previously reported, £20m for Billingham was also confirmed in the budget. It had also been put forward by the previous government, as Levelling Up funding, with then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announcing it in November 2023. However, following Rachel Reeves' budget, Stockton North Labour MP, Chris McDonald said that when the previous government had made the commitment, it “was nothing more than a promise without a penny behind it”.

In spite of these confirmations, one large question remains and that is whether the entire £978m, allocated to the Tees Valley, following the cancellation of HS2, will still be committed to the region.

Following the controversial cancellation of the northern leg of HS2, then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised an additional £8.55bn of funding to be provided through city region sustainable transport settlements (CRSTS). The £978m committed to the Tees Valley was for the years 2027/28 until 2031/32.

Projects included £40m to enable a direct train link between Darlington and Hartlepool. It had been hoped that the billion-pound question was to be answered by last week’s budget. However, both the TVCA and the Department for Transport (DfT) have confirmed that there is no update to give.

The response from a DfT spokesperson last month, when questioned about the funding, was that “Transport is an essential part of our mission to rebuild Britain, and we are committed to improving connectivity across the North - and working with devolved leaders to achieve this. We will set out more details in due course.”

The previous government made a number of funding commitments in the Network North command paper and these are being examined as part of DfT's transport review.

In a written ministerial statement in the summer, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said there was a “gap between promised schemes and the money available to deliver them” amounting to about £2.9bn which had been made clear to her by officials.

She added: "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.”

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