The Shields Ferry could be forced to shut down by 2025 unless vital new cash can be found to build a new landing, bosses have warned.
Plans have been in the works for years to move the ferry’s northern landing to a new spot in the heart of the North Shields Fish Quay. But the scheme was thrown into doubt last summer when the bulk of the funding for it collapsed, with operator Nexus unable to take a promised £5.6m from the government’s Getting Building Fund because of “strict” conditions that would have required the project to be completed by spring this year.
Almost a year on from that major blow, transport chiefs are still searching for replacement funding. And, with the existing north jetty rapidly deteriorating to the extent that it will soon become unsafe, there are warnings that a failure to build the replacement downstream would mean the ferry would have to close – marking a sad end to centuries of maritime heritage.
