Promised Tyne Bridge repair funding still not received

The four-year project was due to start early next year

Tens of millions of pounds promised by the government for the restoration of Tyne Bridge have yet to be handed over, weeks before the work is expected to begin.

The four-year project was due to start early next year.

But 18 months after the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that it would pay for the bulk of the costs, local officials are still waiting for the cash.

The DfT said that “details related to funding will be confirmed in due course”.

The government announced in June 2022 that it would put £35.3m into a project to paint and refurbish the bridge - which is in need of significant structural repairs - and the Central Motorway, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Subsequently, under Rishi Sunak’s Network North pledges, made following the scrapping of HS2’s northern leg this autumn, an uplift in funding was promised to cover the full £41.4m budget.

While some initial council-funded works have already begun on the Gateshead side of the Grade II-listed bridge, local authority officials confirmed on Thursday that they are still waiting for the DfT to provide the money that will allow the main phase of the project to proceed.

Officials had hoped that the works could be completed in time to celebrate the bridge’s centenary in October 2028. It is unclear if this will happen now.

Alastair Swan, principal engineer at Newcastle City Council, told councillors on Thursday that he “can’t envisage” the funding coming through before the end of 2023, and warned: “As time goes by, the condition of the structure deteriorates and the costs go up.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “As part of Network North, we’ve committed to improving the Tyne Bridge and A167 Central Motorway in the North East, subject to necessary approvals.

"We will discuss individual schemes with local authorities, and details related to funding will be confirmed in due course.”