By james art Rachel Reeves will present her first budget as chancellor to the House of Commons on Wednesday (October 30) amid reports of tax rises and spending cuts it could include. The government said after taking office that it needed to plug a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances.
The Local Democracy Reporting Office looks at which regional projects could be affected by the budget.
Railway restoration projects
But projects in County Durham and Darlington are in jeopardy after funding was cut in July.
Bids to reopen Ferryhill station, renew rail links between Consett and Newcastle and create a passenger rail service from Darlington to Weardale, County Durham, were backed by the previous Conservative government.
While some projects were more advanced than others, all three received cross-party local political support and cost thousands of pounds to deliver. Durham County Council said it hoped the three projects would go ahead.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the North East has confirmed that plans to reopen the Leamside line will go ahead despite the government ditching the major rail fund.
Reviving the Leamside line, which runs from Pelaw in Gateshead to Tursdale in County Durham and was closed in the 1960s, has been an ambition among North East leaders for years.
This will allow the extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington and free up capacity to provide more services on the East Coast Main Line, as well as providing links to and between emerging jobs in Gateshead and Sunderland.
Campaigners face a tense wait to see if any of the projects come to fruition.
Transport funding in County Durham
A North East council leader recently called on the Government to urgently confirm it will honor a £73m commitment to County Durham. The county received a share of the £4.7bn Local Transport Fund earlier this year as the Tories diverted funds following Rishi Sunak’s decision to scrap the northern leg of the HS2 rail project.
But Martin Gannon, deputy mayor of the North East, revealed this week that the region has yet to receive confirmation that Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor administration will hand over this funding after all.
Councilor Gannon told a meeting of the North East Combined Authority that it would be “completely unacceptable” if Labor reneged on the pledge. Getting cash from this bank was seen as important to improving transport in the county between 2025 and 2027.
Transport links in Darlington
There are fears that the £978m transport plan approved by the Tees Valley Combined Authority cabinet earlier this year will not be fully delivered.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen previously said the funding that had been allocated to the area was now being reviewed.
The largest single piece of funding from the £978m program is £250m earmarked for the Darlington Northern Link Road, which aims to better connect the A66 with the A1(M).
But former Darlington MP Peter Gibson recently said: “I genuinely fear our uphill battle for the Northern Link Road.”
Other projects, such as the construction of a new station on the site of the old station at Teesside Airport, are planned to be funded by this £978m programme. There are also plans to introduce 15 “trackless trams” to five town centers in the Tees Valley, while improving rail links between Darlington and Hartlepool.
Hospitals
Shotley Bridge Hospital was one of 40 earmarked by the previous Conservative government for redevelopment by 2030 – but the plans have been thrown into doubt since Labor announced a review of the scheme in July.
The government said all projects under the new hospital program were under review due to financial constraints. Bladen and Consett MP Liz Twist said Labour’s decision was due to the lack of funding left by the Tories.
A 16-bed rehabilitation unit and urgent care center were proposed for a new site in Consett, which was to replace the current facility in Shotley Bridge. Planning permission for the new hospital was granted in March 2023, but work has not started
Labor promised to build the hospital in June but now appears to have reneged on its promise.