Staffordshire has secured a major funding pot from the Government for local transport projects which will span a seven-year period.
Staffordshire County Council is being given nearly £286 million from 2025/26 and Stoke-on-Trent City Council £134 million. Both sums are from the £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund (LTF).
The money has been allocated to the Midlands and the North after the HS2 rail leg between Birmingham and Manchester, via Staffordshire and Crewe, was scrapped.
Funding will be available to spend from April 2025 and then will be worth £40.8 million a year to the county council and £19.14 million a year to the city council up until 2031/32.
Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce Policy Adviser Declan Riddell, pictured above, said that the organisation would be writing to both authorities to find out more about the spending plans.
He said: “Transport is a key enabler for business, moving people and goods. Therefore, we welcome news of the funding to support transport projects; however, the devil’s in the detail.
“This is why we will be writing to the leaders of Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council in response to the announcements to find out more and how the spending plans key into proposals we are looking at.”
The Chamber is currently in the early stages of developing a proposal to open a new railway station at Etruria Valley but other schemes are already in development, such as the planned re-opening of the Leek-Stoke railway as well as a new station at Meir.
Declan added: “We also continue to call for improvements to ease congestion on the A50/A500 and an overhaul of junction 15 of the M6, so we would welcome clarity and a clear commitment to press ahead with all these schemes.”
The LTF can be used for a range of transport infrastructure improvements, including road junctions and other road improvement schemes, bus lanes, active travel plans, accessibility projects, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, street space improvements, new drainage systems and more.
In addition, it can help to unlock schemes such as railway station improvements, help meet cost pressures arising on existing transport projects and be used to fund feasibility studies.
A Government paper published about the LTF allocations states that the additional money would be predominantly capital and would include a resource element to ensure local transport authorities can deliver their plans.
The Chamber’s Transport Forum Chair Mike Herbert, pictured above, said: “Clearly the Chamber will want to support the councils to ensure the money is well planned and spent.
“We are also interested in further guidance and details set to be announced soon by the Department for Transport on the scope of the LTF and the delivery requirements for local transport authorities.”
Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader Philip White said: “The funding announcement is good news for Staffordshire. We have been asking for some time for the funding and freedom to decide locally on the transport improvements and the government has listened to what we wanted.
“This means we can focus on delivering those improvements that will make the most positive difference to help people get around the county more quickly and easily.”
