People are asking us what’s happening and that’s a good question. As we understand it, the Northumberland County Council’s full budget was approved in February and included funding for the GRIP 2 & 3 studies from Network Rail, the GRIP 4 Study after that, and a significant contribution towards the actual re-opening costs (£20m in total according to the Council’s press release). And we had understood the Council were poised to sign the GRIP 3 contract as soon as the budget was approved. So why is the contract still unsigned? I sent an email to Stuart McNaughton, the responsible officer at the Council asking the question. In response, I have been invited to a meeting with Stuart and Director of Local Services Barry Rowland at County Hall. The meeting has subsequently been fixed for 5th May.
