Transport infrastructure.

[Inspector Knacker]

With the news that redevelopment of the Redcar steelworks site is about to start now the funding has been allocated, the projected jobs at the site will be quite a boost.
However, getting to Redcar from Hartlepool to join in this projected Tees Valley jobsfest is a joke. Tess Valley looks compact on a map, but the Tees is the big divide so it's shaped like a horse shoe in reality and ironically I can drive to Gateshead quicker than Redcar.
The transporter, that beloved but archaic symbol of the boro is a joke. It opens office hours, closes for lunch and doesn't open Sundays as they have important heritage stuff like bungee jumping to cater for. How much this joke costs to maintain is also a puzzle for the benefits it brings.
Time for a new crossing further down the river at Cargo Fleet then the traffic using it might negate the need to splash even more money on the A19/Portrack moving car park

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

The Tees flyover is a nightmare - the rush hour brings a queue half way back to Teesside Park. Mind you, I've disliked it ever since I got a flat tyre right at the top.

[Land Phil]

Why the obsession with linking Hartlepool with equally depressed Redcar.
Newcastle is where the quality jobs are.

Brexit might shake it up a bit though.
Mine and thousands of other jobs could end up on mainland Europe.

[diSme]

The Tees flyover is a nightmare - the rush hour brings a queue half way back to Teesside Park. Mind you, I've disliked it ever since I got a flat tyre right at the top.

Haha, the exact same thing happened to me quite a few years ago. Fortunately a traffic plod pulled in behind me and kept me safe while I changed the tyre, for which I am eternally grateful.

Nasty place to break down though

[mk1]

Why the obsession with linking Hartlepool with equally depressed Redcar.
Newcastle is where the quality jobs are.

If all the depressed areas are connected it might even out the depression!
I quite like the idea of a quicker way to Scarborough and given that is a cert Boro are going to get their direct train service to Newcastle it might be quicker to nip to boro to get to Newcastle.

[Inspector Knacker]

Why the obsession with linking Hartlepool with equally depressed Redcar.
Newcastle is where the quality jobs are.
Because the site is to be cleared and massive plans are in hand to develop a huge site as an equally huge business park. Result, jobs for people. Good news all round.
As for Newcastle being where the quality jobs are, I assume it's public sector jobs you're talking about or something with a screen where you sit on your ar*e looking out of the window and producing nothing of consequence. I'm talking of jobs for the ordinary person for whom it could make a big difference.
Brexit might shake it up a bit though.
Mine and thousands of other jobs could end up on mainland Europe.
Keep us informed when it happens, as if 

[Land Phil]

Why the obsession with linking Hartlepool with equally depressed Redcar.
Newcastle is where the quality jobs are.
Because the site is to be cleared and massive plans are in hand to develop a huge site as an equally huge business park. Result, jobs for people. Good news all round.
As for Newcastle being where the quality jobs are, I assume it's public sector jobs you're talking about or something with a screen where you sit on your ar*e looking out of the window and producing nothing of consequence. I'm talking of jobs for the ordinary person for whom it could make a big difference.
Nothing of consequence like billion pound banking, international software houses, legal, arts and culture alongside thousands of public sector jobs at Longbenton, not forgetting British Airways, Nissan, IBM, Sage
Brexit might shake it up a bit though.
Mine and thousands of other jobs could end up on mainland Europe.
Keep us informed when it happens, as if 
Buildings have already been obtained in Poland in the case of my company.
The purpose hasn't been released yet, hedging their bets like a lot of companies

[Inspector Knacker]

Tees Valley is hardly some one horse ex pit village who thinks Newcastle is the centre of the known universe.
It has a course of it's own to start on and getting in the pulpit to sing  the praises of Tyneside which in reality is hardly the boom town you paint it to be, as a drive around the area will soon cure you of your selective vision.
As for the Poland reference, maybe that says more about the company than Brexit. Coincidentally, the wife purchased a bottle of brown sauce...'Daddies' it's made in Poland now. Now as brown sauce sales in Poland and Europe wide will be on the low side I can only assume it went there because of lower costs.  Now as this happened when we were in the EU will it be moving production back to the UK, because the problems you predict and trade barriers are part of a two way street, so surely the producers of said sauce will have a problem selling it to the UK in future?
So basically, a UK only product's production(to all intents and purposes) is moved from the uk to a country that doesn't use it. So in reality it is about costs.
So maybe you're just too expensive to employ, the only other reason is low productivity.

[eddy]

I don't think linking Redcar and Hartlepool will particularly change the economic chances of either.  The area is broken up by the tees but the cost to build a flyover closer to the north / south gare will be huge because of its span and required height for shipping.  There are really black and white cost / benefit appraisals that central gov run when looking at these things and I doubt it would ever come close

Anecdotally, as someone who now has to live in Manchester because there aren't really any jobs for people in my game on Teesside, improvements in public transport and the tram have had a positive impact.  The train service through Teesside is rubbish, and seems to stop functioning after 6-7pm.  There are faster easier wins than building a massive bridge, and there is a wider discussion to be had about rebalancing the economy away from London and the south east specifically to places like Teesside.  Talk is cheap, will see what actually happens

[Inspector Knacker]

No need for a huge bridge at North Gare, that would be impractical and expensive.
A lifting bridge (which the Dutch are brilliant at) positioned at Cargo Fleet would do the job much cheaper and much more practically.
River traffic above Cargo Fleet is light and not not that large in comparison to further down the river.

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

Something along the lines of the Tyne & Wear Metro could serve the area well.

[diSme]

Something along the lines of the Tyne & Wear Metro could serve the area well.

I agree. I've lived in both Whitley Bay, and Gateshead, and many times I found myself leaving the car at home and using the metro instead. It would definitely be very beneficial for the area if we had a similar system, ideally connected to the existing metro system.

[Inspector Knacker]

They could run a train from Hartlepool to Saltburn on a regular timetable and a few more stations would provide a Tees Valley Metro at a reasonable price, but don't hold your breath.

[eddy]

There was talk of a metro style system a few years back but it was canned.  That would probably be an easier win, I spend most of the time driving places when I come back home and its really annoying!!

They are testing tram-trains in Sheffield at the moment but they would require the electrification of most of the rail network on Teesside which I doubt the gov would pay for

Mind you, if they are serious about destroying the labour party / governing in perpetuity / bringing the UK into a one-party state they probably should at least spend a few hundreds of thousands on some "studies" with recommendations that will never be enacted or funded, again.  Its all about the sound bites in the post-truth era, actually delivering on promises is of little concern   

[mk1]

They are testing tram-trains in Sheffield at the moment but they would require the electrification of most of the rail network on Teesside which I doubt the gov would pay for

When/if they extend the metro to Durham and Boro get their direct link to Newcastle it will leave Hartlepool isolated in the middle with no benefit whatever coming our way. Best thing to do them would be to end Northern Rail trains and just run a more regular shuttle service between Sunderland and  Hartlepool.