The North East combined authority has submitted a five-year transport wish-list to the Department for Transport and is now asking construction firms how the potential work should best be packaged up.
The programme is scheduled to run from April 2027 to March 2032 and spans major road schemes, railway upgrades, bus infrastructure, active travel and transport technology. The Government has already confirmed £978m of core transport funding for the region, but the wider list also contains projects that still require further business case approvals and additional financial backing.
Only that £978m core allocation is confirmed so far. The rest of the list is a statement of intent rather than an approved, fully funded programme, and individual schemes will need to clear business cases before they can be built.
Among the named schemes are the Darlington Northern Link Road, upgrades to the A66 and A689 corridors, a new platform at Middlesbrough Station and the redevelopment of Thornaby Station. The authority is also pursuing a new station at Teesside International Airport, improvements to Middlesbrough bus station and transport links serving the Teesworks development.
The authority acknowledges that delivering the full programme will depend on Government support and potentially further outside funding. Steve Harker, the combined authority's cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said major transport schemes often require significant additional funding even for a devolved body, and that Government backing is vital because it would allow external bodies to help fund the programme, giving the region its best chance of delivering as many projects as possible in good time.
Despite that uncertainty, the authority is pressing ahead with early supplier engagement to shape its procurement strategy. It expects to let multiple contracts covering highways, rail, civil engineering and specialist infrastructure rather than award one giant deal, and the final structure has yet to be settled.
It is also considering a programme-wide alliance based on the FAC-1 Framework Alliance Contract model, which would bring delivery partners together and encourage regional contractors and SMEs to take part. That approach is intended to keep smaller regional firms involved alongside larger delivery partners.
An initial supplier launch event was held on 9 November, and firms are now invited to give feedback through a market engagement questionnaire, giving them a route to comment on packaging before the procurement strategy is finalised. Contractors have until 1 March 2027 to respond, a deadline only a month before the programme is due to start if work is to begin on schedule.