‘We will maximise opportunities for maximum ambition’
FUNDING COMING TO COUNTY
STAFFORDSHIRE is set to receive more than £285 million in transport funding with the aim of building new roads and improving junctions, filling in potholes and tackling congestion.
It comes as the government announces £4.7 billion to tackle transport issues across the North and Midlands, and is reinvesting the money saved from scrapping the northern leg of HS2.
However, none of the money can be spent before the general election, which is expected later this year.
The funding, which will be available from April 2025, will last for seven years, which roughly equates to £40 million every year.
The extra cash also represents nine times more than local authorities currently receive.
Councils will be expected to publish their delivery plans for which projects they wish to invest in, and will be held accountable by the government and local communities to ensure the money is spent effectively.
Additional guidance on how local authorities can use the exra funding has not yet been made available.
Speaking at the Branston Interchange works yesterday, Cabinet Office Minister John Glen said: “I’ve come here because it’s an example of a project where we’ve unlocked housing development, and development generally, through a small amount of money – in this case it was £6 million of Levelling Up money.
“But what I’m saying is because we’ve taken the choice around stopping HS2 northern leg, there is additional money to invest in communities and towns across the West Midlands.
“I think it’s around £1.1 billion over the West Midlands as a region, and that’s the choice we’ve made as a government.
“What I’m hoping is that the conversations with the local authority is about saying, ‘look, you’ve got this extra money, you should now be working with local businesses, local towns and mayors to say let’s maximise this.’
“What I’ve seen here at the Branston Interchange is that there’s been a lot of working together over several years to make the development we see outside work and make it happen.”
The multi-million-pound A38 Branston Interchange project is aimed at easing congestion and increasing capacity, the project includes creating additional lanes around the junction, on the slip roads and on Branston Road and Parkway, as well as installing new traffic lights.
The news was welcomed by Midlands Connect chief executive Maria Machancoses. She said: “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.”
The minister continued: “A big national infrastructure project that was HS2, I think it was absorbing about a third of the transport budget as a whole, and what we’ve decided is that intraregional connectivity, investing in new roads and transport infrastructure within counties, within towns rather than just linking big cities to London, is more important.
“We are going to maximise opportunity for maximum ambition across local authorities as they say ‘well, what can we do here to make the best of this part of the world, right in the centre of the country, centre for logistics and distribution?’ We have a thriving communications infrastructure and job centre here and we want to maximise that.”
As part of the funding announced yesterday, the £2 bus cap which was introduced in 2023 is set to be extended until the end of the year.