£947m ‘to transform journeys in region’

A NEAR-BILLION pound transport investment is to “transform” Yorkshire journeys, the Transport Secretary has insisted, putting power into the hands of regional decision makers.

As revealed in Saturday’s edition of The Yorkshire Post, from the £36bn saved by scrapping HS2’s Northern leg, just under £1bn in funding is today to be pledged to the county.

Now, as Transport Secretary Mark Harper outlines how the funds could be spent on new roads, or updating bus and train stations, he insists this is the “right” decision for Yorkshire.

“All these projects are made possible because this Government took the right long-term decision to reallocate funding from the second phase of HS2 and has prioritised reinvesting that money to improve local transport projects,” he said.

“The Local Transport Fund is the first fully devolved transport budget of its kind for smaller cities, towns and rural areas. It recognises that you, not Westminster, know the transport needs of your area better than anyone.

“This Government has a plan for improving local transport for you and, thanks to our decision on HS2, we are prioritising the everyday journeys that matter most to build a better future for, and better connect, the country.”

Today’s announcement comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak prepares to host his first Cabinet meeting in Yorkshire today,

Yorkshire is to receive a £947m funding boost from April next year, he is to outline, to improve transport connections particularly across smaller cities, towns, and rural areas. This investment will deliver an “unprecedented” uplift over seven years, Government insists, as the first fully devolved transport budget of its kind.

TRANSPORT funding for Yorkshire from the scrapped Northern leg of HS2 is “levelling up in action” as it will benefit more people than a high-speed rail link, the Prime Minister has said.

Today's announcement from the Department for Transport (DfT), of nearly £950m of reallocated funding through the Local Transport Fund, will see HS2 savings instead set aside for councils to spend on the decisions that “matter most” to communities.

Over the next seven years this will be “at least nine times more” than local authorities currently receive for local improvements, the DfT said.

With Rishi Sunak today chairing his first Cabinet meeting in Yorkshire, he is expected to call on Ministers and MPs to hold councils to account to ensure the funding is used appropriately.

“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,” the Prime Minister said.

“Through reallocating HS2 funding, we’re not only investing nearly £1bn directly back into our smaller cities, towns and rural areas ross Yorkshire and the Humber, but we are also empowering their local leaders to invest in the transport projects that matters most to them – this is levelling up in action.

“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 pounds of funding we’ve already invested into our roads, buses and local transport services across the country.”

The new round of announcements is targeted at smaller cities, towns and rural areas, with combined authorities in South and West

Yorkshire already having city settlements. The package includes just under £380m for York and North Yorkshire, £168m for East Riding, £161m for Hull, and £118m and £119m for North and North East Lincolnshire respectively.

The funding, announced as part of Network North, comes alongside £8.3bn to resurface roads across the country, £1bn to improve bus services in the North and Midlands, and £200m to extend the £2 bus fare cap across England.

It will be made available from 2025 to give councils time to develop funding plans, so they can “hit the ground running” with projects from building new roads and junctions to new mass transit systems, tackling potholes or congestion.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper described today’s announcement as a “game-changer” for Yorkshire.

Transport for the North (TfN) chair Lord Patrick McLoughlin said it was a “sign of progress”, adding: “By having greater clarity on the funding that’s available, it helps remove inertia and accelerates delivery on the ground.

“TfN look forward to working with government and local leaders because we know that the travelling public will get better results the more locally the decisions are made.”