Yahoo News Shields Ferry funding boost belatedly signed off – with almost £5m to help build new jetty
A major funding boost of almost £5 million to safeguard the future of the Shields Ferry has belatedly been signed off.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service told earlier this month how £4.58 million found to help build a new landing for the boat crossing in North Shields was held up as too few councillors attended a meeting to sign it off. There have been warnings for years that the Shields Ferry could be at risk if a replacement for its existing north jetty is not built, with the existing one expected to deteriorate into an unusable state in the near future.
Transport bosses want to build a new jetty closer to the North Shields Fish Quay, but the project has suffered a number of setbacks – including ferry operator Nexus losing Government funding for the scheme and North Tyneside Council failing in a Levelling Up Fund bid. The North East Joint Transport Committee was due to agree earlier this month to reallocate £4.58 million of unspent funding from the Metro Flow project, a dualling of the railway line between Pelaw and South Shields, but was unable to as their meeting on April 16 was inquorate.
It has now been confirmed that the decision has now been formally taken by Sunderland Council chief executive Patrick Melia, who is also the head of paid service for the North East Combined Authority. While the cash is not enough to cover the entire ferry landing project, the price of which has spiralled to an estimated £14.6 million, it is widely expected that a further funding boost will be confirmed following the election of the new North East mayor.
Regional transport chiefs have previously asked for the Government to “accelerate” £8.1 million of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) that will be given to the incoming mayor, while Nexus and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership are also committing money to the new jetty.
Meanwhile, there has been a further sign of tangible progress on the scheme with Nexus having published a prior information notice (PIN) alerting contractors to its intention to issue a tender. The document states that Nexus is in need of a “suitably qualified and experienced main contractor, experienced in marine environment construction who will be responsible for the design, consents, and construction of various elements related to the North Shields Ferry Landing Relocation project”.
It adds: “This includes the construction of a new ferry landing, associated works on the existing Western Quay to enable public access and utility routing, extension of the existing Fish Quay’s Protection Jetty, and removal of all existing redundant structures at the old ferry landing.”
