Green light for major highways projects funding strategy
Cabinet is set to approve a strategy document setting out how major transportation and highways projects are funded over the next five years.
The Programme Definition Document updates the council’s Transportation and Highways Capital Funding Strategy (THCFS) for the period from 2015/16 to 2020/21 at an estimated total capital cost of £253.916 million.
The report to cabinet also asks for approval on a match funding strategy to meet the council’s local contribution commitments relating to Department for Transport (DfT) major schemes, as well as Local Growth Fund, Local Sustainable Transport Fund and Cycle City Ambition Grant schemes.
This requires the allocation of revenue from bus lane enforcement penalties, which must be reinvested in transportation and highways projects. A net surplus of £4.075 million is forecast at 31 March 2016, with the funding strategy proposing that £1 million of this be allocated to planned works in Iron Lane in 2016/17. It is proposed that any further expansion of the city’s bus lane enforcement operation is self-funded.
, cabinet member for development, transport and the economy, said: “This Programme Definition Document sets out how major highways projects will be funded between now and 2021, bringing significant benefits to the city’s residents and businesses, ranging from economic growth and support for development and housing, through to reduced congestion, safer roads and improved air quality.
“A key part of my job is looking at the way people move around our city and working to ensure they can do this as smoothly and as effectively as possible.
“As part of this, we introduced city centre bus lanes which provide benefits such as improved journey times for thousands of commuters, but we are also investing funds generated from bus lane enforcement penalties back into improving the local transport network, as we are required to do.”
Cabinet members are also being asked to approve the release of development funding of £0.905 million for 2015/16 and £1.120 million for 2016/17 to move individual projects forward.
The report will be considered at cabinet on February 16.
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