County Durham receives £30m funding for regeneration projects, supporting 174,000 local jobs

Council leaders have detailed how more than £30m of investment, secured from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund and matched by Durham County Council and the Science Museum Group, is to be used for infrastructure and regeneration.

A visit by Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP comes following the recent success of Durham County Council’s application for £20m from the government’s Levelling Up scheme.

This will help in delivering a heritage corridor master plan focussed on visitor attractions Locomotion in Shildon and the Stockton and Darlington Railway Line, as well as delivering the A68 Toft Hill bypass and reopening historic Whorlton Bridge.

There has been further good news for County Durham with the announcement that Hitachi, which has a factory in Newton Aycliffe, has in a joint venture with Alstom been awarded a contract from HS2 to build high speed trains.

During his visit Mr Sunak met with the council’s Leader, Cllr Amanda Hopgood, deputy leader Cllr Richard Bell, chief executive John Hewitt and its corporate director of regeneration, economy and growth Amy Harhoff.

Increased car parking, cycle parking spaces and electric vehicle charging points at Locomotion, as well as the new Locomotion Building Two and improvements that will see heritage engines run along the museum line, are set to drive many more visitors from around the country to the popular attraction.

County Durham is already a major economic force in the North East. It has 533,100 residents, supports 174,000 jobs in 14,565 businesses while it also attracts more than 20 million tourists and contributes £9bn to the region’s economy each year.

Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Leader of Durham County Council, said: “We have ambitious plans to regenerate County Durham’s towns and villages to ensure that the county remains a fantastic place to live, work and visit.

“That is why we were delighted to have been successful in bidding for £20m from the Levelling Up fund towards our infrastructure, a figure which will be matched by investment of £11m from the council and The Science Museum Group, to help us achieve the very best outcomes for our communities.

“The funding will also be of great benefit to our proposed Inclusive Economic Strategy which, working with key partners, strives to enable business aspiration and improve training and education opportunities to help people into skilled jobs. It will also support more inclusive opportunities for innovation and economic growth, helping people and businesses to thrive.”

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