Electric trams for Tees Valley town centres including Hartlepool given go ahead in £1bn transport package

The £20million scheme to deliver 15 trackless autonomous electric trams in five town centres across the region is one of 26 projects agreed by leaders of the Tees Valley Combined Authority on Friday.

They are set to serve Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Redcar and Stockton town centres and link in with other planned road and rail improvements designed to “revolutionise” the region’s transport network.

Other multi-million pound projects in Hartlepool backed by the combined authority’s cabinet include £50m to improve the A689 dual carriageway, £40m to enable direct rail services between Darlington and Hartlepool, and £5m towards the Elwick bypass.

Work on the detail of the trams project will now begin with routes to be finalised through detailed survey work.

However, there is no proposed timescale yet.

Unveiling the trams proposal, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “These are the types of projects that we need to deliver if we want a transport system that’s fit for the 21st century, that allows us to compete with regions that are bigger and more developed than us because they have had more attention and money than we have had over the years.”

The combined authority has been allocated the additional £1bn funding after the government cancelled the northern leg of the HS2 high speed rail project in the North West.

Other projects include £15million for more work on options for an A19 Tees Crossing and a £1m feasibility study into an Eastern Tees Crossing to shorten journey times between Hartlepool and Redcar’s Teesworks site.

£30million has also been earmarked to bring the Transporter Bridge back into action.

Mayor Houchen added: “This plan will revolutionise travel across Teesside, Darlington, and Hartlepool. We’re determined to improve everyone’s day-to-day travel, but we also want to bolster our continued plan to make our region an economic powerhouse with access to good, well-paid, long-term jobs.

"Now we have the backing we need, we can now get on with the hard work of putting this plan into action – and getting spades in the ground in as many of these projects as we can as soon as we possibly can.”