Mayor candidate promises probe into the final bill for railway line
LABOUR’S candidate for the North East mayoral race has promised to hold an internal inquiry into delays on the Northumberland Line project if she is elected.
Kim McGuinness said that she will ask officers to look at how much costs have increased and why three of the line’s stations will not open this summer.
While stations at Ashington, Newsham and Seaton Delaval will take passengers this year, those at Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park will not be open until 2025.
The county council has pledged to publish the full costs of the scheme once it is completed, however it has acknowledged that it will be “significantly higher” than the original estimate of £166m.
Ms McGuinness was backed in her call for answers by some of her political opponents in the mayoral race, although Northumberland Conservatives have attacked the current Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner’s record in office.
Ms McGuinness said the public deserved to see “financial transparency” around the delayed project, saying: “As mayor I will ask for a full report on the reasons for the delay, and I promise to make the secret cost public.
“The people of the North East have paid for this line, they have a right to know what it is costing them.
“More and more public funds have gone into this but no one has so far revealed to the taxpayer how much extra this has cost.
“I will publish those details and demand an explanation.
“As mayor I will ask for a full report on the reasons for the delay, and I promise to make the secret cost public.
“If a new railway line into London was opened over-budget, delayed and with several of its planned train stations missing, then the Government would be unable to avoid questions over a failure to deliver.
“The exact same standards have to apply here in the North East.”
The Northumberland Line scheme has suffered from several setbacks related to poor weather, engineering difficulties, archaeological discoveries, and at one point, even an unexploded bomb.
The cost of these delays has not been revealed by Northumberland County Council, the Department for Transport (DfT) or the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
In March, Rail Minister Huw Merriman admitted that the delays would add to the overall cost of the scheme.
However, he also pledged to publish the completed cost once the scheme was delivered – something Northumberland County Council has also now pledged to do.
A council spokesman said: “This line will open again for passengers for the first time in six decades and is a hugely important regional and national project.
“It’s a triumph of engineering for which we thank the Government and Network Rail for their financial contributions and the cross-party North of Tyne Combined Authority for their support.
“Because of the huge nature of the project and challenges including the effects of the pandemic and the very difficult weather experienced, we know that the cost will be significantly higher than the original estimate.
It is entirely incorrect and wrong to infer that there is any secrecy about the costs of the project.
“We are still in confidential commercial discussions and until they are settled, we do not know what the final cost will be. However, as soon as the matters are concluded then the overall cost of this great project will be gladly given.”
Responding to Ms McGuinness’
comments, chairman of Northumberland Conservatives Richard Wearmouth criticised Labour for failing to deliver the project when in power – and attacked the commissioner’s record.
The deputy leader of Northumberland County Council said: “The Conservative Government and our council are returning passenger rail services to south east Northumberland
after decades of the Labour Party failure.
“Kim McGuinness is attacking the project to hide her party’s own incompetence over many years of failing to deliver the scheme.
“Ms McGuinness has been a dreadful police and crime commissioner.
“She pushed up taxes yet delivered nothing and has seen crime and
antisocial behaviour become rife in many of our communities.
“She would be a disaster as mayor - The North East deserves better.”
Defending her record, Ms McGuinness said: “Crime is down 3.5% since I became PCC.
“We’ve seen the biggest increase in neighbourhood policing in the force’s history and we’ve worked with victims families to talk to over 100,000 young people on the dangers of knife crime, in the face of cuts from central Government.”
Northumbria Police force has lost more than 1,100 officers and £148m from its budget in the years since 2010.
The police precept on council tax was increased by 7.7% this year, equating to a rise of £13 per year for
Band D homes and £8.67 for Band A homes.
Current North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll, who is standing against Ms McGuinness as an Independent candidate in the mayoral race on May 2, defended the Northumberland Line project.
He said: “This is the only passenger rail line opening in the country.
“We’ve waited for decades and it’s actually happening, because we’ve worked cross-party and put the people of the North East first.
“Where HS2 is failing we’re actually getting something built, despite rising costs globally.
“It’s routine practice to evaluate every project. Suggesting otherwise is just grasping for a headline.”
However, other candidates were more supportive. Aidan King of the Liberal Democrats said: “When public money is being spent, taxpayers need to know it’s being spent properly.
“Many residents across Northumberland and the wider north of Tyne area will be looking at the half-baked and half-built railway and wondering if they’re really getting value for money.
“For a mayor who has touted the Northumberland Line as one of his greatest successes, will Jamie Driscoll stand by the inflated price tag for a railway that is half finished?”
The Green Party’s candidate Andrew Gray was supportive of calls for “full transparency” with more information on costs and delays being made public to improve scrutiny.
He said: “I don’t see a need for a formal inquiry as such.
“The termination of the line at Ashington rather than serving Woodhorn and Newbiggin is a longer term concern, alongside the delays in opening some of the stations.”
As mayor I will ask for a full report on the reasons for the delay, and I promise to make the secret cost public Kim McGuinness