STOCKTON MP Alex Cunningham has told of his "extreme disappointment" after being told by the Government that people "tormented" by noise from the A19 will have to wait at least four years for road improvements.

Mr Cunningham, Labour MP for Stockton North, said people in Billingham had been plagued for many years with noise from the concrete surface.

He was hopeful that the Government's Road Investment Strategy, announced last November, would mean that the A19, running from the A1027 at Norton to the A689 at Wynyard, would be upgraded.

However, he has been informed by the Department for Transport (DfT) that the improvements won't happen until March 2020 at the earliest.

Mr Cunningham said: "I was extremely disappointed to receive confirmation from the Department of Transport that improvement work to this vital stretch of the A19 isn’t scheduled to start before March 2020 and I fear it could slip further.

"This is a blow for the entire area, condemning those residents plagued by excess road traffic noise to years more misery and commuters affected by severe rush hour congestion, to many more hours stuck behind the wheel.

“Like residents, I welcomed the announcement in December 2014 that the concrete stretch of the A19 running from the A1027 at Norton to the A689 at Wynyard is to be both widened and resurfaced.

"However, I warned at the time that the Tory-led coalition had a poor record on roads, with schemes to deliver improvements to the network being cancelled, promised private investment failing to materialise and announced projects failing to get underway. This latest revelation signals more of the same under David Cameron.

“It is time the Government got itself into gear and committed to investing meaningfully in the vital infrastructure that northern regions need to rebalance the economy. Delaying the construction phase of this project by over four years is not the way to achieve this, and will do little to inspire confidence amongst residents or businesses locally.”

The Government has been quick to point out that there will be £600m of investment on roads across the North-East in the coming years.

Furthermore, Highways England has already started work on the A19 scheme, which was announced in 2014, and have appointed design consultants. Technical assessments are being carried out and will be completed by summer 2016.

A DfT spokesperson said: “Our £600m investment in roads in the North-East over the next five years will dramatically improve our road network and unlock the north’s economic potential.

"It will play a key part in building the Northern Powerhouse, creating jobs and opportunities and benefitting hardworking families across the North-East."