A MULTI-MILLION pound plan to build a new landing for the Shields Ferry has hit choppy waters, after most of the funding for the project collapsed.

Transport bosses have confirmed that £5.6m of government cash earmarked for the scheme has been lost, leaving them on an urgent hunt for more funding.

It was first announced in 2019 that plans were in the works to replace the ferry’s deteriorating north landing with a new site downstream at Western Quay, with hopes that putting it in the heart of the North Shields Fish Quay regeneration area would attract more passengers.

The entire project is expected to cost £8.8m, the bulk of which was being covered by a £5.6m share of the government’s Getting Building Fund announced last summer.

But it has now emerged that the money is no longer available, as ferry and Metro operator Nexus cannot meet the “strict” timescale which would require work to be completed by spring 2022 – with construction on the new landing now pushed back to an estimated 2023 start date. 

In March, the North of Tyne Combined Authority also agreed to put £750,000 towards the project.

At the time, a report stated that the existing north ferry landing will soon “become unusable”, with a maximum expected lifespan of just two years – meaning that a failure to replace it would put the future of the Shields Ferry service under threat.

Councillors were told on Thursday that the landing project is still “very much an aspiration” for Nexus, which will put in £3.2m of its own money, and that alternative sources of money are being sought.

John Fenwick, Nexus’ director of finance and resources, delivered the bad news to the North East Joint Transport Committee’s Tyne and Wear sub-committee.

Afterwards, he said: “Nexus remains committed to delivering this exciting project and is actively exploring other sources of funding.

“An application for £5.6m towards the cost of the relocation of the North Shields ferry landing was made via the Getting Building Fund, which is administered on behalf of the region by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

“Unfortunately, the proposed ferry landing project will not be delivered within the strict timescales surrounding use of this funding allocation.

“The Shields Ferry is an iconic local transport link and we are committed to securing its long term future.”

A Nexus spokesman confirmed that bids to other government funding pots were being considered in order to close the cash shortage.

Helen Golightly OBE, chief executive of the North East LEP, said: “In response to the coronavirus pandemic, government launched the £900m Getting Building Fund in August 2020 to provide immediate investment to shovel-ready infrastructure projects across the country that could complete by March 2022.

“Seventeen projects from the North East LEP region were awarded funding, including Nexus’ planned new ferry landing at Western Quay in the heart of the North Shields Fish Quay regeneration area.

“Unfortunately Nexus’ planned works to relocate the ferry landing have been pushed back in 2023 meaning the project can no longer be delivered within the timescale required to be funded using the Getting Building Fund. 

"The funding will be retained in the region and allocated to support the region’s ongoing economic recovery.”