12/06/2026
Millions spent on consulting fees! This is a disgrace.
💷 £577,307 SPENT — BEFORE YOU WERE ASKED
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council spent £577,307.54 on the Yarm High Street scheme.
This money came from the Levelling Up Fund… Which is national taxpayer money.
(not council tax)
It has been spent on consultants, contractors, surveys, design work, and professional fees.
❗The work involved turning a section of the cobbled car parked into a paved seating area with flowerbeds.
📊 The spending includes:
🔴 £220,911 to Esh Construction
🔴 £145,293 to Balfour Beatty
🔴 £98,415 to Identity Consult
🔴Multiple additional consultants, surveys, and internal costs
➡️ Total spent: £577,307.54
So we need to ask some serious questions:
❓ Could this money have been better spent?
❓ Could it have been used to regenerate other parts of Stockton that are crying out for investment?
❓ Why were residents not properly consulted beforehand ?
❓ Why risk trashing a historic high street without clear public backing?
❗This project was only stopped in its works by a local who raised a petition.
Not the councillors or council
Not the Parish
Not the MP
👉 Local voices heard. Heritage protected.
🪨 The Cobbles that make up Yarm High Street are rumoured to have been ballast from trading ships. Each cobble tells a story and serves as a reminder that Yarm was once one of the main ports of trade on the River Tees during medieval times.
🚢 Ships would often carry stone as ballast and unload it before taking on cargo for their return journey.
🇬🇧 Under Restore Britain, our historic areas and heritage would be protected for future generations, whereas council after council has sought to erode or remove parts of the character and history that make our towns unique.