Plans to create a 'New Town' alongside the Leamside Line are to be developed by the North East Mayor and her cabinet. This is quite a clever move in their bid to gain investment for the full re-opening of the Leamside Line IMO. The government seems to have housing creation at the top of its list at the moment, and this plan sounds like something they would endorse and back financially. At the same time, it could give the Government sufficient reason to financially back the Leamside Line project. It would also attract a lot of private investment. According to an article in The Northern Echo: New proposals are now due to be drawn up to explore exactly how it could transform surrounding communities in areas like Ferryhill, Penshaw, West Rainton and Fencehouses by acting as a catalyst for new houses and jobs to spring up around vastly-improved transport links. The North East Combined Authority’s (NECA) cabinet is expected to allocate up to £500,000 next week, which would fund the development of an investment strategy for towns and villages along the full length of the railway line, where passenger train services were axed in the 1960s under the Beeching cuts. A report ahead of the NECA meeting in South Shields says that there is even “potential for a new town” to be built. The Leamside Line has been labelled the single most important transport infrastructure upgrade for the future of the North East. Mayor Kim McGuinness committed more than £8 million last summer to develop business cases for the project, though bringing it to fruition would require vast investment – potentially from private firms as well as the Government. A previous estimate put the price of building a Washington Metro Loop alone at £745 million, though it has since been listed as a £900 million scheme in the mayor’s draft Local Transport Plan. Ms McGuinness said: “Our region is ambitious, and I’ve been clear I want to re-open the Leamside Line which will benefit everyone in the North East and beyond. “Last year, we committed £8.6 million of local funds to kick start the detailed business cases required for the Metro to Washington and Leamside South. The Investment Corridor builds on this even further. Reopening the Leamside Line will play a crucial role in creating a green, world-class transport network for the North East, ending the scandal that has seen one of the country’s biggest towns cut off from public transport for decades. “This project has limitless potential which goes beyond a rail and Metro link. We’re actively working with government and investors to explore how we can bring private sector investment in, so we can create new affordable homes, thousands of new good-quality jobs and connections to key employment sites such Nissan and the IAMP. “A new Leamside Investment Corridor strategy will look at the long-term opportunity for the development of new homes next to sustainable transport links and with this in mind, we are engaging with Government about its new town agenda to explore what part this might play in the future. “The new strategy will bring together the opportunities for housing, skills, growth, and will support us in bringing forward investment we hope will deliver change which will benefit many generations to come. It is such an exciting time as we begin this new project which is a major step forward for the Leamside Line.” The expected benefits of the Washington Metro extension include an estimated £90 million per year boost to the regional economy and the elimination of 87,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
