Almost £1.34 billion will be invested in transport infrastructure across Tees Valley through 2031/32, with a £250 million road scheme and plans for a trackless tram among more than 20 projects in the region’s investment programme.
The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) has approved its Local Transport Delivery Plan and will now submit it to the Department for Transport.
The majority of the funding was previously allocated through the second round of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS2), with £978 million committed to the region. Of that, £916 million is capital funding.
Major projects in the programme include:
- £250 million Darlington Northern Link Road
- £20 million trackless tram scheme
- Improvements to Middlesbrough bus station
- A new station at Teesside International Airport
- Maintenance and works associated with the Transporter Bridge
The wider programme includes £987 million of capital funding and £98m of revenue funding, with a further £136 million earmarked for spending beyond the end of the current Mayoral Transport Fund allocation in 2031/32.
TVCA expects to spend around £104 million during 2026/27, rising to between £200 million and £300 million a year over the following five years.
However, an independent review by consultants Stantec has highlighted cost and delivery risks across parts of the programme.
The review described the overall investment plan as “strategically ambitious and generally deliverable”, but identified uncertainty around the scope, cost and programme requirements of a number of projects.
Middlesbrough bus station and the proposed Teesside International Airport station were among the schemes highlighted as requiring further design work, business case development, stakeholder engagement and funding certainty.
The review also identified affordability pressures, with the estimated cost of several projects exceeding their indicative funding allocations. Maintenance work on the Transporter Bridge is among the schemes affected.
TVCA said delayed progress on a number of projects had also left funding available that was originally expected to be spent between 2022 and 2026. This unspent funding has been incorporated into the wider £1.34 billion programme.
The authority has included 20% over-programming in the capital plan to provide some headroom against rising project costs.
The Local Transport Delivery Plan will now be finalised before being formally submitted to the Department for Transport.
(Picture: Mapillary)
