Plans worth £150m have today been unveiled for a brand new bus and railway station at retail park Teesside Park.

The new transport hub is set to connect the region to the ever-growing retail park in Stockton, which has recently welcomed Lush and Wagamamas to the site, with plans for a long-awaited Primark officially underway.

Currently, the closest rail link to Teesside Park is Thornaby station - but that is a 40-minute walk away. For road users, extra parking and a bus interchange are also part of the plan.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen made the announcement today (December 23) after Teesside was granted £978m in transport funding - money which has been re-directed from the now scrapped HS2 project.

The Northern Echo: Teesside Park.Teesside Park. (Image: Teesside Park)

Following the announcement, Mayor Houchen said: "Teesside Park is one of the most popular destinations for people to shop, eat out and work but transport to and from it needs to be improved.

"The new rail and bus interchange will also link in with plans for Care and Health Innovation Zone at the Tees Marshalling Yards, meaning people will have access to the high-quality jobs created there, as well as better connectivity to Teesside Park.

"On top of the new Teesside Park link, we also want to transform Thornaby Station –making it a station fit for people north and south of the river in the heart of Teesside, especially given the number of services that pass through Thornaby."

He added: "This huge funding package has provided us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform travel across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.

The Northern Echo: Rail station.Rail station. (Image: TEES VALLEY MAYOR)

"We want our area to be at the forefront of delivering the innovative transport solutions of the future and I look forward to revealing the full details of what we’ve got planned."

Fellow Conservative Matt Vickers, MP for Stockton South has heralded the plans as a "game changer".

He said: "Almost everyone has experience of sitting in the Christmas traffic at Teesside Park. This new transport hub will be a game changer and will mean greater access to Teesside Park by bus, train and car.

"It will make life easier for people travelling in but also support the many jobs created at the park, and ensure it maintains its place as one of the best retail parks in the country. The improved transport links will also further our ambitious plans to deliver a new health and care zone."

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However, Chris McEwan, Labour's candidate for Tees Valley Mayor, said in response to the plans that the public "cannot trust" the Conservatives.

He said: "This is good news, but goes nowhere near far enough. There has been inaction on transport in the Tees Valley for far too long under Lord Houchen. 

"Just last week we saw this Conservative Government announce funding supposedly earmarked for transport projects in the North, would in fact be spent repairing potholes in London.

"We simply can not trust them on projects like this."

Teesside Park has been contacted for comment.