Tyne Bridge restoration scaled back due to costs

The restoration of the Tyne Bridge has been scaled back due to rising costs, official documents have shown.

Repair work has been taking place on the bridge since 2023 as part of a £41.4m project, which will also see repairs made to Newcastle's Central Motorway.

Inflation and the poor condition of the bridge has caused the cost of the maintenance works to jump significantly and led to work such as repairing its towers being dropped.

Newcastle City Council said the rise in costs meant some of the work it would have liked to have carried out had to be "deferred until additional funding streams" could be found.

"However, we would stress that we are not even halfway through the four-year programme and will continue to seek additional funding where further opportunities arise to allow the full scope of works to be completed," a spokesperson said.

"Both projects are progressing well and remain on schedule."

A review by consulting firm AECOM, requested by the North East Combined Authority as part of the process for signing off a final £6.3m to complete the repairs, said the repair project would lead to a "decrease in reported benefits" because elements had been scaled back.

The report, and the Newcastle and Gateshead councils, said the programme continued to "represent good value for money".

The report said the deferred work included

• Concrete repairs, cleaning, and door and window repairs on the Tyne Bridge towers
• Grit blasting, steelwork repairs, and repainting of the Tyne Bridge's approach spans
• Concrete repairs, cleaning, and repointing of the bridge abutments
• Concrete repairs and barriers on multiple sections of the Central Motorway
• Waterproofing and protective coating renewals across all Central Motorway structures
• Architectural or heritage lighting, public realm, and aesthetic enhancements
• Any additional resilience or future-proofing measures beyond the "core structural interventions"

The councils said the dropped works would be considered during future repair projects at the earliest opportunity, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Newcastle's Liberal Democrats said they were "troubled" by the reduction in scale of the repairs.

The group's leader Colin Ferguson said: "It is hardly the grand job that had been promised and some parts appear to be being scaled back to the bare bones.

"We are particularly seeking clarity on the implications of this for the de-scoped commitments on the Central Motorway as we consider it is essential to keep a close eye on its ongoing maintenance needs, how that will be funded, and over what timeframe."

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