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Search the Public Notice Portal“We will save it, we will get it funded. I don't care who I have to lobby because this is about more than just a bridge.”
Standing beside the River Tees as the Transporter dominates the skyline behind him, the message from Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke couldn’t have been clearer.
There was not a shred of doubt over what Mayor Cooke wants to see for the iconic structure - but whether that can be brought into reality is another question all together.
Since then, engineers have been monitoring the bridge and carrying out inspections to inform the design of a long-term solution - with the key options being a full repair and return to full working order or keeping it as a static landmark.
But either solution will come down to one key issue: funding.
The full cost of bringing the bridge back into full working use remains unknown at this stage, but a report in 2024 suggested repairs could cost £67m.
And Middlesbrough Council and Stockton Borough Council are unable to solely foot the bill of its refurbishment, meaning the proposals will only go forward if funding is allocated.
This week, Chris Cooke spoke to the Echo about the Transporter and its future in Middlesbrough while addressing concerns over a "lack of clear vision" for the site.
“It is the quintessential symbol of Teesside. It is something that just has to remain and it has to remain in a working state," he told the Echo on a windy day in Middlehaven.
“There's something special about when you get over the top of Ormesby Bank and you can just see it right there in the skyline. This is our heritage.
“This is the thing that brought people to this place, steel, engineering, hard work and graft. And fundamentally that's who we are. That's why we came here.
“That's why people stayed. And if we lose this as a symbol of that past and who we are essentially, It would be a crying shame.”
Mayor Cooke has long talked about saving the bridge, last year saying he would leave “no stone unturned” in the council’s quest to preserve and restore it.
He also argues that, if the bridge were located in the South, there would be “no question about” saving it, asking why the North has to choose.
"Our heritage isn’t worth less than theirs,” he said.
But his message about bringing the bridge back to full working order is now clearer than ever before: “We will save it”.
Mayor Cooke is now “pushing as many levers as I can” to ensure the funding is made available as the council awaits the outcomes of the tendering process.
But when it comes to finding the funding, the council has recently faced criticism over exactly who it will be pitching to, once the proposals are finalised.
£30m has previously been agreed for the bridge by the Department for Transport (DfT) - but this is only accessible if the bridge is brought back into working use.
Mayor Cooke said he would be working with the Tees Valley Combined Authority and approaching Government ministers - but that there is a difference in opinion on whether the structure should be classed as a heritage or transport asset.
He said: “We need to get to the point where we understand what the problem is, what the fix is and what the cost is going to be because going and making a half answered ask is probably just going to set us back further.”
Refurb must be ‘doing the right thing for the public pound’
As well as the landmark or fully operational debate, there have even been calls for a replica to be built in its place, something that faced its own barrage of criticism.
But Mayor Cooke said the “only option” that he is willing to lobby for is the bridge being fully operational and the gondola working once again.
He said: “There is an increased cost. But in my head it's not worth it to just repair it and not do that extra bit.
“By the time we've already gone to the expense of doing the repairs that are necessary, the extra amount to get the gondola working will seem almost insignificant.
“It will be about making sure that we get the right thing for the public pound. We need to make sure that it's spent well.”
But bringing the gondola back into working order also has its critics.
Some Middlesbrough residents have argued that the money spent on renovating the bridge could be better spent on other town centre issues.
But Mayor Cooke argued that “we should do both”.
He said: “For too long as a place we've had to choose between things and we've had to make choices. But I want to see an end to that.
“Why should we choose between our town centre and our heritage assets? I will lobby whoever I have to lobby to try and make sure that we get all the funding required.”
The council has also come under fire for its communication with the public and a lack of clear vision for how the bridge fits in the town’s regeneration narrative.
Mayor Cooke said he sympathised with past councils that had “struggled” to keep assets like the Transporter alive when there had been no funding attached.
He now thinks it is time to “wrong some rights” - using the Old Town Hall, which is currently undergoing a major regeneration, as an example.
He said: “If we're looking at what we’re about to do in Middlehaven, we've included the Old Town Hall within that because it is important that we keep those heritage aspects.
“Middlesbrough went through quite severe periods of regeneration and lost some of its heritage in the meantime and I don't want to see that happen again.”
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He also committed to keeping the public up to date on the works going forward once the tendering and procurement process is finished.
Mr Cooke said he was hopeful that, if there was a chance to engage the public with the project, he would “absolutely want to make sure that that happens”.
Interviews with the historian Tosh Warwick and Middlesbrough residents as well as a look back at the bridge's history and its future will feature later this week as part of the Echo’s week-long Transporter special report.
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