A group of North East MPs have urged Rishi Sunak to step in and release the funding needed for the restoration of the Tyne Bridge.

Eleven MPs from Tyneside and the wider region have written to the Prime Minister, calling on him to ensure that the Department for Transport (DfT) hands over more than £40m of promised cash for the massive refurbishment project “at the earliest opportunity”.

Anxiety over much-needed repairs to one of the North East’s greatest landmarks has been growing over recent weeks.

Council chiefs in Newcastle and Gateshead are waiting for the DfT to deliver the money that it first promised in June 2022 so that the huge maintenance project can at last begin in earnest.

And there are worries that any further delays could have severe implications – in terms of the condition of the rusted bridge worsening even more, the cost of the works spiralling, and the landmark’s restoration not being completed in time for its 100th anniversary in October 2028.

Gateshead MP Ian Mearns, who last week accused the Government of “crass neglect” towards an iconic symbol of the region, wrote the letter to Mr Sunak, which is also signed by Ian Lavery, Grahame Morris, Kate Osborne,  Sharon Hodgson, Emma Lewell Buck, Mary Glindon, Mary Kelly Foy, Liz Twist, Nick Brown, and Chi Onwurah.

It reads: “There is a unique complexity which adds to the urgency in this matter, in that the Tyne Bridge structure is a popular breeding ground for Kittiwake seabirds who nest under the structure when they return from wintering out at sea, and who are designated red under the Birds of Conservation Concern list.

“The breeding colony which nest in the Tyne Bridge, form the furthest inland breeding colony of Kittiwakes anywhere in the world. The Kittiwakes will return to the Tyne Bridge between Newcastle and Gateshead, in the spring and once they have established their nesting places on the bridge, they are rightly, unable to be disturbed or relocated, causing significant disruption and delay to the restoration until they depart.

“I have been assured that the relevant plans have been sitting with the Department for Transport since July 2023, and while some works have already begun through  funding supplied by the local authorities, it is of the utmost importance that the agreed funding is released at the earliest opportunity, so that the work can commence properly.

“As Members of Parliament representing constituencies in the North East, and who all share a keen interest in ensuring the Tyne Bridge is restored in time for the centenary in 2028, we urge you to ensure that the funding is released urgently and at the earliest opportunity.”

Following years of campaigning, the DfT announced in June 2022 that it would put £35.3m into a project to refurbish both the bridge and the Central Motorway.

And, under Rishi Sunak’s Network North pledges made after the scrapping of HS2’s northern leg, an uplift in funding has recently been promised to cover the full £41.4m budget of the scheme.

Some initial works have already begun, with scaffolding erected around the south side of the bridge.

But the bulk of the project, which will require two of the bridge’s four lanes of traffic to be closed for years during the engineering works, are dependent on the Government’s promised contribution.

Tensions between local authorities and the DfT over the issue escalated last week, with the Government having claimed that council officials did not submit all of the required documentation for their business case until December – meaning it was still in the process of being assessed.

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The councils have insisted that civil servants in Whitehall have been in possession of the final business case in July 2023 and that the last minor clarifications requested were submitted in November.

A DfT spokesperson said last weel: “Network North will see every penny of the £19.8bn committed to the Northern leg of HS2 reinvested in transport across the North, including the restoration of the Tyne Bridge in the North East.

“Last month the council provided the final supporting documents required to progress the business case, which is in the process of being assessed.”