A LOCAL government overhaul could mean North East transport policy is no longer ‘all about Newcastle’.

The North East Combined Authority (NECA), which is responsible for transport in the region, was split last month (November), when Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland left to form the new North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA).

Remaining NECA local authorities – Sunderland, South Tyneside, Gateshead and County Durham – will not be able to access a new NTCA investment fund, but could get their own seat at Transport for the North, which develops transport plans for the whole of northern England.

Speaking at Friday’s economy and enterprise overview and scrutiny committee meeting, Durham County Council’s head of transport Adrian White painted a mixed picture of how the new organisations could impact the region.

He said: “Our representative for NECA [at Transport for the North] was Nick Forbes [leader of Newcastle City Council].

“I know he is a County Durham boy, but is he really interested in [things like] rail stops at Chester-le-Street?

“One of the benefits is we have a new representative, so hopefully it won’t be all about Newcastle.”

While the change could give County Durham and other areas a louder voice, it may not translate into real infrastructure improvements.

The new NTCA will have access to an investment fund worth up to £600m over 30 years which will not be available to NECA.

However, both combined authorities will continue to operate a North East Joint Transport Committee to make decisions on projects.

“I think the big change will be when we start looking at funding schemes from central government, where you can only bid as a transport authority, which excludes us as a county council,” Mr White added.

“The North of Tyne Combined Authority has a devolution pot which they can use for match funding– we don’t.

“Whether we can agree priorities when bidding for that pot will be interesting.”