Sustainable transport projects receive £375m funding

Forty-four councils in England are successful bidders for Local Sustainable Transport Fund for 2015/16

Forty-four councils in England are to receive a combined total of £375 million in funding towards local sustainable transport projects such as improved pedestrian infrastructure and bus journeys, Transport Minister Baroness Kramer has announced.

The successful bidders to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for 2015/16 were revealed yesterday (July 14) after applications were received from almost all eligible local authorities in England, according to the government.

Initiatives to encourage cycling are among those set to benefit from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund

It is hoped that the funding can benefit local air quality by encouraging people off the roads or to use public transport.

According to Baroness Kramer: “The successful schemes will deliver a range of sustainable transport interventions across England, including enhanced cycling and walking infrastructure, improved bus journeys and better transport interchanges.”

Recipients include Birmingham city council, which is extending its Cycling Ambition programme as part of its Smart Network, Smart Choices project. In total, the authority will receive nearly £3 million towards the £21.7 million project, which aims to introduce sustainable transport improvements on ten main routes across Birmingham and Solihull.

Elsewhere, jobseekers in Tamworth will be supported to access employment through cycling training and improved transport interchanges after Staffordshire county council successfully bid for £985,000 from the fund.

Other successful bids include £996,500 towards phase two of Southampton county council’s Sustainable Transport City project, which aims to promote travel behavioural change, cycling infrastructure and community initiatives.

Baroness Kramer added: “All bids needed to demonstrate how the proposed programme would deliver economic growth, benefit the environment, influence greater uptake of cycling and walking, improve health and create a more joined-up door-to-door journey for people.”

Overall, the 44 councils will share more than £64 million in revenue funding, with each project providing its own matched contribution, bringing the total to more than £375 million.

This sum includes more than £100 million sourced directly from the Local Growth Fund, meaning that for every £1 the Department for Transport invests through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund in 2015/16, local authorities will contribute £5.80 over the six years to 2020/2021.