Kim McGuinness urges the government to undo 'multi-million pound Durham transport snub'

The Government has been urged to use money saved by scrapping HS2 to undo a multi-million pound Durham transport snub.

North East Mayor candidate Kim McGuinness and Durham Labour Group leader Carl Marshall have called on the Government to finally hand County Durham the same transport funds that Northumberland, Tyne and Wear are set to receive in the North East devolution deal.

“The Government was happy to take money meant for high speed rail to the north and use it to fix London potholes, now they need to show they can do the same for Durham,” Kim said.

The current Tory devolution deal offered to the North East saw six areas handed more than £147m of extra City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. But because Lib Dem/Tory coalition Leaders in Durham joined the deal too late that money was already allocated to the six other councils and Durham was blocked from accessing vital transport funds.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced last autumn he was scrapping a High Speed Rail line which was set to free up capacity on the overcrowded East Coast Main Line. He promised a raft of smaller projects to make up for the snub – including another tranche of city region transport funds.

Now, Kim McGuinness and Carl Marshall have said its time the Government revisited their Durham snub.

Kim said: “People in County Durham shouldn’t be denied their share of vital transport funds just because the original deal froze them out. The Government has made clear it has more transport money to invest after axing HS2, especially for London. It’s time someone spoke up for Durham’s needs.

“There’s a budget in March and we’ll be asking the Government to correct this snub. First, Durham needs its share of the original transport pot. We can’t have two-tier devolution in the North East. Second, we need confirmation from the Government that its next transport fund will include Durham.”

Councillor Carl Marshall said: “The Government froze Durham out of a key transport fund, then it scrapped investment in the North. If the Government wants us to believe there is now more money for transport then ministers should do the honourable thing and put County Durham back on a level playing field – Give Durham its fair share of transport investment.

“Durham County Council should be showing leadership and challenging Government over this.”

Cllr Amanda Hopgood, speaking on behalf of the Joint Administration of Durham County Council, comments: “Cllr Marshall and County Durham Labour have once again demonstrated their hypocrisy – they actively campaigned against County Durham joining a regional devolution deal, and did all that they could to stop or delay that happening.

“Once again, they are twisting the facts for the sake of political grandstanding and to sow the seeds of division, rather than offering practical suggestions that will allow all partners in the LA7 to work together for the benefit of everyone in the region. It’s disappointing that a mayoral candidate is taking the same approach, and more than worrying that she is not aware of the terms of the deal.

“Durham County Council will be the largest local authority in the North East Mayoral Combined Authority and we will have an influential voice in how millions of pounds of additional funding is spent in the North East, including on major transport infrastructure projects.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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