More than £400,000 of taxpayer cash is set to be pumped into the long-awaited Blyth Relief Road after the cost of the scheme jumped by almost £3 million in less than a year.
Northumberland County Council approved the draft business case for the project in July last year, with the project forecast to cost a total of £43.9 million. The council is set to meet 15%, or just under £6.6 million, of that bill.
However, since then the cost of the scheme has increased to £46.8 million due to "inflationary pressures", meaning the council's contribution must increase to maintain the required 15% contribution. At Tuesday's meeting of the council's cabinet, members agreed to provide an additional £431,214, bringing the total contribution from the council to more than £7 million.
