Cost of new ferry landing jumps by £4m

The cost of building a new ferry landing has jumped by millions of pounds in a year.

North East Combined Authority (NECA) said it is now budgeting £18.7m for the new Shields Ferry landing in North Shields, which is just over £4m above the cost it cited in July 2024.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: "The old landing urgently needs to be replaced, so we're pulling out all the stops to get this project delivered for local people."

Next week NECA will discuss signing off the final £5.9m required to build the new landing, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

This cash will come from a reallocation of money from the government-funded City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) programme which had been due to help pay for the expansion of the region's pay-as-you-go smart card system.

NECA said in a report that this money was no longer needed for the expansion which was still due to go ahead.

Tyne and Wear transport operator Nexus said the costs of the landing had risen due to the "very complex" nature of the work and it would not confirm the full costs until it had appointed a contractor.

Nexus managing director Cathy Massarella said the project was "crucial" for the "long-term sustainability" of ferry operations on the Tyne.

"This is a complex scheme, one that requires the use of specialist marine suppliers, the mitigation of environmental impacts and the protection of the existing quay operations," she said.

It is hoped the new ferry landing will be complete by 2027.

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