SHEFFIELD is to receive £113 million to spend on major transport schemes in the city and surrounding area over the next 10 years.
The city region, which also includes the rest of South Yorkshire plus parts of north Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, is one of four areas of the country being given its own transport funding - with decisions on where it will be spent to be made locally.
Currently, major transport projects have to be approved by the Government.
The local funding pot is part of Sheffield’s City Deal scheme agreed with ministers to help the area’s economy grow.
It follows approval of £2 billion to revamp Sheffield’s roads, the £500m electrification of the Midland Main Line railway, and £300 million being invested in opening the hard shoulder of the M1 as a fourth lane in South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire.
Tim Hale, chair of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce Transport Forum, said: “This can only be good news for the Sheffield City Region. The work to repair our potholed streets is underway, and the announcement on the High Speed rail station for the area is eagerly awaited.
“This money being earmarked for transport in our region is excellent news, and it is to be hoped some of the major issues we have campaigned on over the last few years can finally be resolved, easing congestion across the city’s bottlenecks and bringing prosperity back into the city.”
Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership development agency chairman James Newman said: “I am pleased the Government has listened to local leaders to allocate major transport funding to the region.”
Comments