County Durham Labour Group Leader, Cllr Carl Marshall, who, alongside Labour’s North East mayoral candidate Kim McGuinness, led calls for extra funding after County Durham was omitted from the region’s initial City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, welcomed news that the county will finally receive extra transport investment.
He said:
“We very much welcome the news that the Government has reversed its stance and County Durham will receive the much-needed funds required to invest in transport.
“Once again it took action from County Durham Labour and the regional influence of mayoral candidate, Kim McGuinness, to highlight this issue with the Government, as the Coalition running the County Council stayed silent. In fact, its leaders claimed Kim and I were “twisting the facts for political purposes” when we highlighted the issue last month.
“The Government, for once, listened to our demands when the Tory-led Coalition running the County Council did not. With the effective renegotiation of this transport fund, County Durham should now receive the investment it needs to ensure it has at least parity with the rest of the North East.
“There is still much to do, such as securing clarity on the future of the Leamside Line, but this is a step in the right direction.”
Full details of the settlement at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/local-leaders-to-receive-47-billion-to-transform-transport-across-the-north-and-midlands
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-fund-allocations