People in the North and the Midlands will benefit from better public transport, reduced congestion and upgraded local bus and railway stations thanks to the new £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund, the Government says. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Transport Secretary Mark Harper confirmed that the North will receive £2.5 billion and the Midlands will receive £2.2 billion from April 2025 to improve local transport connections, particularly across smaller cities, towns, and rural areas.
This investment, announced as part of Network North, promises an ‘unprecedented long term funding uplift’ across the regions over seven years, and is claimed to be the first transport budget of its kind that’s specifically targeted at smaller cities, towns and rural areas and which empowers local people and local leaders to invest in the transport projects that matter most to their communities.
Over the seven years, the Government says the funding will be on average at least nine times more than these local authorities currently receive through the local integrated transport block, the current mechanism for funding local transport improvements.
The Local Transport Fund will be made available from 2025, to give local authorities enough time to develop their funding plans and prepare, to ensure they are delivered as soon as possible.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “We have a clear plan to level up our country with greater transport links that people need and deliver the right long term change for a brighter future. Through reallocating HS2 funding, we’re not only investing billions of pounds directly back into our smaller cities, towns and rural areas across the North and Midlands, but we are also empowering their local leaders to invest in the transport projects that matter most in their communities.
“The Local Transport Fund will deliver a new era of transport connectivity. This unprecedented investment will benefit more people, in more places, more quickly than HS2 ever would have done, and comes alongside the billions of pound worth of funding we’ve already invested into our roads, buses and local transport services across the country.”
Long-term certainty
The Government says the investment will give local authorities long-term certainty to invest in transformative and ambitious transport improvements from 2025 through to 2032 including: building new roads and improving junctions, installing or expanding mass transit systems, improving roads, improving journey times for car and bus users by tackling congestion, increasing the number of EV chargepoints, and refurbishing bus and rail stations.
To ensure local authorities can make the most of this unprecedented funding, the Department says it will publish advice for local councils and transport authorities to help them develop ‘ambitious plans’ to improve local transport infrastructure in their areas. Councils are expected to work with local MPs and the Government says it will hold them to account to make sure the money is spent promptly and effectively.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper commented: “Today’s £4.7 billion investment is truly game-changing for the smaller cities, towns, and rural communities across the North and the Midlands and is only possible because this Government has a plan to improve local transport and is willing to take tough decisions like reallocating funding from the second phase of HS2. This funding boost will make a real difference to millions of people, empowering local authorities to drive economic growth, transform communities, and improve the daily transport connections that people rely on for years to come.”
The Local Transport Fund is aimed at communities in the North and Midlands which are outside City Regions, which receive City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), and is expected to allow neighbouring authorities which were not eligible for CRSTS to drive forward similar infrastructure improvements.
The North East is separately receiving £3.7 billion from CRSTS from now until 2032, which includes an uplift of more than £1 billion from Network North, for local transport projects across the Tees Valley and the North East.
Maria Machancoses, Chief Executive of Midlands Connect, commented: “This funding represents a significant investment in our region’s infrastructure. The Midlands contributes more than £90bn to the UK economy, and to boost that even more, we need reliable transport networks and investment in new technology. We welcome this announcement and the improvements it will bring for our communities and businesses across the Midlands, and we will continue to work with Government and support our local authorities, to ensure these vital Network North transport upgrades are delivered.”
