Deputy mayor pushes for £73m HS2 funding

County Durham is the only North East area to get a share of the funding

A council leader has urged the government to honour almost £72.8m of reallocated HS2 funding.

County Durham was awarded a share of the £4.7bn local transport fund earlier this year.

North East deputy mayor Martin Gannon revealed this week the region had not received confirmation Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour administration would hand over that funding.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said it was "committed to improving connectivity across the North and was working with devolved leaders to achieve this".

The local authority viewed the funding as essential for transport upgrades in County Durham between 2025 and 2027, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Gannon, who is also Labour leader of Gateshead Council, told the North East Combined Authority’s cabinet on Tuesday it would be "completely unacceptable" if Labour were to renege on the pledge.

Durham was a late joiner to the North East devolution deal

County Durham is the only area in the North East to receive a share from the redirected £4.7bn pot.

The rest of the region is due to receive money separately from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), which Durham was excluded from as a late joiner to the North East devolution deal.

The £72.8m allocation announced in February this year was intended to make up for that, with Durham then to be included in phase two of the CRSTS programme beyond 2027.

Mr Gannon said: "We know the chancellor has made announcements about the £20bn black hole in the public finances and, as a consequence, we are awaiting official confirmation of the £73m of CRSTS funding for County Durham.

"Again, that will have to be confirmed by the Budget in October.

"It would be absolutely, completely unacceptable for us not to receive that funding we campaigned for and which was committed by the previous government."

Government 'committed'

North East mayor Kim McGuinness said her authority had "made very clear representations to government that we require this money in this region in order to continue to grow".

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "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 on funding in due course."