North East councils approve £6.8bn transport plan

The document lists 243 projects for which funding is sought

A £6.8bn plan to overhaul transport in the north-east of England has been approved by local authority leaders.

The document lists 243 road, rail, bus, walking and cycling projects.

They include reopening the disused Leamside railway line, extending the Metro system and building new bridges over the Rivers Tyne and Wear by 2035.

However North East Joint Transport Committee chairman Martin Gannon said government funding was needed "to make these plans a reality".

Mr Gannon told the committee London receives £3,636 per person in transport funding, compared with £519 per head in the North East.

"I don't want anything special, we don't want the North East to get any more than its fair share, all we want is a level playing field," he said.

The Department for Transport said it had invested £29bn across the north since 2010 and welcomed the committee's "ambitious plans".

"We're focused on driving growth and regeneration and delivering more reliable journeys between the north's towns and cities," a spokesperson said.

Martin Gannon said government money was needed to make plans like reopening the Leamside Line a reality

Reopening the Leamside line between Ferryhill and Pelaw would restore rail services to communities like Washington for the first time in decades, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Plans also include electric vehicle charging infrastructure, a contactless public transport payment system and the long-anticipated dualling of the A1 to the Scottish border.

North Tyneside mayor Norma Redfearn said it was the first time the region's seven local authorities had produced a "shared vision for the future of transport".

"We are working hard to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic stronger and more resilient," she said.

North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll said the region "had a glimpse during the first lockdown of what life is like without traffic".

"We need to make public transport as fast and convenient as car ownership," he said.