Leamside line's future 'to be decided by North East's mayor'

The North East's new mayor will decide the future of a major rail line after the government decided not to use funds freed up by the scrapping of HS2's northern leg.

The Leamside line, in the North East of England, was among projects listed on the government's website earlier this week as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plans to reallocate £36bn.

However, it was quickly removed.

Critics have accused the government of "misleading" the public.

Having run between Pelaw, Gateshead and Tursdale, County Durham, the Leamside line closed in 1964.

Supporters said its reopening would allow for an extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington while freeing capacity for more services on the East Coast Main Line by providing an alternative path for freight trains.

The Department for Transport now said its renewal "could" be part-funded by a £1.8bn regional funding pot that has been increased using money that would have gone to the northern leg of HS2.

An extra £685m that would have been spent on the high-speed service will top up the North East's next share of the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), covering the years 2027 to 2032.

The decision on where to spend that money would, the government said, be made by the North East's first mayor once they have taken up the role next May.

On Thursday, roads minister Richard Holden told the BBC's Question Time it was "right" to hand control of the Leamside decision to that person.

Mr Holden, the MP for North West Durham, said: "We don't know whether the local mayor is going to want to do the entire project as heavy rail if they want to go ahead, or if they will want to do part of it as a Metro extension for the Tyne and Wear Metro, or if they will do it as a mixture of different projects.

"I think it is right when we are doing devolution, if we are going to give that money - and we are basically trebling the money for the next five year period for the CRSTS funding [compared to £563m from 2022 to 2027] - that we give that decision-making power to the local mayor."

Rail minister Huw Merriman told Sky News it was "right that we actually listen and talk to the region about where they want to allocate that money".

He added the line "would be a very popular choice, but we do actually want them to make the ultimate decision".

Two candidates vying for the mayoral role have expressed doubts over whether the funding will be sufficient to pay for the reopening as well as other major transport upgrades across the region.

Labour candidate Kim McGuiness, who is currently the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, and Independent Jamie Driscoll both cautioned the Leamside project will cost at least £1bn, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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