LONDON, UK, August 10, 2014 (ENS) – Seven communities in England will benefit from £900,000 in additional government funding to extend their sustainable transport efforts, Transport Minister Baroness Kramer announced Friday.
The funding has been allocated to existing local projects already supported by the Department for Transport’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund.
Announcing the new funding, Baroness Kramer said, “We’re serious about making transport better for the environment, whether that is by cutting carbon or improving air quality.”
“Encouraging more people to cycle or use public transport makes sense for local economies, because it reduces congestion and improves public health.” the minister said. “That’s why we’re providing record levels of funding for communities wanting to make their transport networks cleaner and greener.”
The largest award in this round of funding goes to the Lincolnshire County Council. This historic county in the east of England will receive £350,000 to build on successful projects encouraging more people to choose public transport, cycling or walking.
Communities benefiting from this new round of funding are:
Bournemouth Borough Council: £50,000 towards design of a high quality cycle route serving schools and employment centers
Dorset County Council: £64,000 towards plans for 20 miles per hour zones in Weymouth and Dorchester town centers
Hertfordshire County Council: £130,000 towards plans that encourage cycling, walking and bus use
Leicestershire County Council: £160,000 for better information at bus stops, encouraging parents to leave the car at home for the school run and loaning mopeds to jobseekers to help them find and access work
Shropshire Council: £84,000 for schemes to promote cycling, walking and public transport
Wokingham Borough Council: £62,000 to extend a program to help households plan more sustainable travel
Friday’s announcement follows the £440 million the government announced on July 11 for sustainable transport in communities.
Both rounds of funding are part of the £2 billion the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron is investing in measures to advance sustainable transport.
The £2 billion covers fostering the uptake of electric cars and other ultra-low emission vehicles and plans to promote greener public transport, cycling and walking.
The Local Sustainable Transport Fund had its origin in the local transport white paper “Creating growth, cutting carbon,” published in January 2011, This policy paper placed localism at the heart of the transport agenda to cut carbon emissions and create local growth.
A total of £560 million was originally made available through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. Funding was topped up with a further £40 million to £600 million in 2012 to accommodate approval for a greater number of bids, with local contributions provided by local authority partners.
In total, the Department for Transport has awarded funding to 96 packages in 77 local authorities to deliver their plans by 2015.
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