Transforming Cities Fund (TCF)

The Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) has provided the North East region with £208m for capital investment in our sustainable transport networks. Encouraging more journeys to be made using sustainable modes of transport such as public transport and active travel (walking and cycling) is a key objective of the Fund.

A £10m Tranche 1 allocation was announced in February 2019 and has been used for active travel schemes and improved bus priority in the region.

In March 2020 the Government awarded a £198m Tranche 2 allocation to the North East, which will be used for two purposes:

Establishing a TCF Devolved Pot (£104m), which will enable a programme of over 20 schemes to be delivered by 2023. The programme includes big investments in active travel corridors, bus priority schemes, Park & Ride improvements and city centre public realm improvements.
Delivering the Metro Flow scheme (£94m), which will provide extra Metro track capacity in Jarrow and Hebburn that enables the whole system to operate at six trains per hour on each line, compared to five trains per hour at present. The scheme will also reduce delays to trains across the whole network by improving operating efficiency and resilience in South Tyneside.

Below we set out:

The TCF Devolved Pot Programme
The Transport Assurance Framework that we use to ensure all schemes funded by the TCF Devolved Pot offer good value for public money and can efficiently deliver our objectives
Value for money statements associated with schemes in the Tranche 2 programme
Monitoring and Evaluating the TCF Programme
Our Tranche 2 bid to Government submitted in November 2019
Our Tranche 1 bid submitted to Government in December 2018
Our original expression of interest for TCF submitted in 2018

The TCF Devolved Pot Programme

When the £198m TCF allocation was announced in March 2020, Transport North East worked with our local authority partners and Nexus to develop a draft programme of schemes for delivery by 2023. This programme included a degree of over-programming to reflect the fact that not all schemes can necessarily be delivered as planned by March 2023, which is when all TCF monies must be spent.

Schemes in this draft programme are not fully confirmed until they can demonstrate that they offer good value for public money. This is demonstrated through compliance with our regional Transport Assurance Framework.

Transport Assurance Framework

Our Transport Assurance Framework guides scheme promoters on how to develop a business case for investing in their scheme.

The business case will build a strategic justification for the investment, show it offers good value for money and explain how the scheme will be managed, delivered and funded. All business cases are independently reviewed by consultants, retained by Transport North East, to ensure that a consistent and impartial view is taken on each scheme.

The final decision on funding for each scheme rests with the North East Joint Transport Committee.

You can download the Transport Assurance Framework here.

TCF Tranche 2 Value for Money Statements

The Department for Transport requires that all schemes funded by the TCF Devolved Pot have a value for money statement completed by the scheme promoters. Value for money statements for approved schemes can be found below:

Monitoring and Evaluating the TCF Programme

It is vital that the predicted outcomes for every approved scheme in our TCF programme are monitored and evaluated to ensure the schemes deliver the benefits and outputs that were forecasted.

A monitoring and evaluation plan, and an evaluation hub, are under development and will be available to download here in due course.

Our TCF Tranche 2 bid

On 28 November 2019, the North East submitted an ambitious and integrated programme of capital investments to the Department for Transport, seeking funding from the TCF. The submission takes the form of a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC).

The region’s programme envisages a £467m investment in public transport, sustainable transport and supporting capital investment.

It will:

Improve the frequency and reliability of the Metro
Introduce new passenger rail services in South East Northumberland
Speed up urban buses and make rail services more reliable
Extend the cycling network
Improve Park & Ride facilities
Transform environments in city centres

The programme as a whole represents high value for money – its economic benefits outweigh the costs of investment by a ratio of 3:1 – and can be delivered by 2023.

The relevant document can be downloaded here.

Our TCF Tranche 1 bid

In February 2019 the North East was awarded £10m of capital funding to be spent on schemes that encourage more travel by bus along with cycling and walking, improving connectivity to city centres and key employment sites.

The application forms submitted to Government in January 2019 can be downloaded below:

Cycling schemes to key employment sites – bid submission

Cycling schemes to key employment sites – annexes

Cycling to Newcastle package – bid submission

Cycling to Newcastle – annexes

Cycling to Sunderland – bid submission

Cycling to Sunderland – annexes

Public Transport Reliability package – bid submission

Public Transport Reliability package – annexes

Barras Bridge Scheme – bid submission

Barras Bridge Schemes – annexes

Our TCF Expression of Interest

The successful TCF Expression of Interest for the North East region can be downloaded below:

NECA Transforming Cities Application.pdf

NECA Transforming Cities Bid Appendices.pdf

Stay up to date on the Transforming Cities Fund projects and be sure to read our latest news.

Campaigns & Initiatives

Transport Decarbonisation – funding programme

North East MPs and transport leaders are backing a new £19.5m bid to decarbonise transport in the North East through the delivery of new electric buses and Electric Vehicle (EV) charging facilities for local people.