Metro in the fast lane
PLANS for a Tees Valley metro linking Darlington to Saltburn via Durham Tees Valley Airport looked to have been put in the fast lane last night.
Minister for the North East, Nick Brown, said he had the go-ahead to use underspent regional funds for a “series of £5m to £10m projects that together could be said to be the first phase of a Tees Valley metro”.
It was unclear which projects would receive the funding, but the news will cheer business campaigners who have championed a metro for nearly three decades. The £140m scheme has been creeping up the agenda at both the regional development agency and the Department of Transport, but last night’s announcement was the first evidence of guaranteed investment.
In a wide-ranging speech to the Tees Valley branch of the North East Chamber of Commerce, Mr Brown said inflation and unemployment would go on rising “even as we come through the other side [of recession]”.
In what could be interpreted as an oblique reference to spending cuts, he said it was private enterprise that would fuel a recovery, not Government. But private partnerships with the public sector were crucial in the North-east. He invited business to make maximum use of his privileged position as chief whip to get to the heart of government. “We have travelled a magnificent journey - no other region in England has done more to help itself.” said Mr Brown.
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