Levelling Up

Levelling Up Fund

Re-routing of the A68 to by-pass Toft Hill and High Etherley

Levelling up Fund:

The County Council was awarded  £20 million in the first round of the Level Up Fund which will help in delivering a heritage corridor masterplan focussed on the visitor attraction Locomotion in Shildon and the Stockton and Darlington Railway Line.

It will also allow the re-routing of the A68 at Toft Hill, creating a new 1.6-kilometre bypass away from the village centre to help to improve journey times, reduce traffic and improve road safety through the village.

Whorlton Bridge, the UK's oldest road suspension bridge in Teesdale, will also benefit. The bridge has been closed to all users since December 2020, but with funding now in place to support the necessary works, it is planned to reopen in summer 2023. A visitor centre will be developed as part of the works, allowing users to celebrate the bridge's transport heritage.

The link below gives access to the full  'Levelling up Statement' released by Durham County Council in December  2021

www.durham.gov.uk/article/26704/-30m-transformative-programme-for-county-detailed-to-Chancellor-following-successful-Levelling-Up-Fund-bid