Tees Valley Mayor Signs Off £1.6million to Kick-Start Eaglescliffe Station Works

Tees Valley Combined Authority | Published on: 10th November 2021

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has today (10 November) signed off £1.6million of funding to kick-start work on major improvements at Eaglescliffe railway station.

Eaglescliffe is a key station linking the region to both local and national destinations, with a half-hourly service between Darlington and Saltburn, hourly connections to Bishop Auckland, plus Grand Central’s route to London, which currently runs four times a day.

The project will create a new western access to the station on land adjacent to Durham Lane Industrial Estate, including a car park made up of around 120 spaces and a fully accessible pedestrian footbridge replacing the existing footbridge.

This funding will enable Network Rail to complete its next phase of design and development works for the footbridge, including site investigations, to make the project construction-ready. Work on the redevelopment is set to begin next year, with completion scheduled for 2023.

The scheme is being backed by up to £8.5million of funding from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority, with further funding and support from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and Network Rail.

The announcement comes following Government confirmation that the region will receive £310million to transform the transport network funding schemes across all types of transport, from road to rail, buses to cycling, including upgrades to Middlesbrough and Darlington stations.

Mayor Houchen said: “This vital funding will help deliver the final part of the preparatory work so that we can get spades into the ground in the new year and open up much-needed access from the west.

“This development will be critical for our local businesses operating at Durham Lane as the industrial estate expands further, we welcome more companies on-site and company bosses need to travel as face-to-face meetings become more common once again.

“It will also benefit those local people living practically metres away from their nearest station but are in the silly situation of having to take a ten-minute drive or wait for a connection from Allen’s West to use Eaglescliffe’s national services.

“This is the latest investment as we work to improve or major stations across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool, to give people the local and national connections they deserve and make getting in, out and around our area easier and more stress-free than ever. Thanks to Government’s recent announcement of £310million for our transformative projects, we can drive real change sooner, too.”

Councillor Bob Cook, Leader of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, said: “Earlier this year the Council purchased a 26-hectacre site at Durham Lane in Eaglescliffe to help protect what is a key employment site in the Borough. Eaglescliffe is already home to lots of great firms and businesses like Tata Global Beverages, Returnable Packaging Services and Nifco – and we’re in a really strong position to attract more businesses. Part of the land the Council purchased will be used as the station car park and the improved transport links to Eaglescliffe Station will be key to help ensure more businesses are drawn to the area.”

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