Over £200m awarded by Government to boost local transport in Leicestershire

The Prime Minister says that the Local Transport Fund will deliver a new era of transport connectivity.

Leicestershire County Council has welcomed extra Government money to boost local transport in the county.

£238 million has been awarded to Leicestershire from the Government’s Local Transport Fund. 

Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Roads and transport enable our residents to go about their everyday lives, connecting people with work, shops and health facilities so any extra funding is very welcome.

“What we really need to help us put in a place a long-term, joined up approach is Government confirmation of the yearly funding, and the money available for road maintenance and buses. This is what enables us to put a sustainable plan in place and do the most to help our residents.

“We now need to work through the detail to see how we can make the most of the money.”

The money is available over seven years from 2025/26.

Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Bosworth, said "I and other Leicestershire MPs have been lobbying Government for additional funding and we’re pleased to have secured over £238 million to transform transport in our area.

"This is on top of an above-inflation an uplift to Leicestershire County Council finances of more than 7%, £3 million to fix potholes across Leicestershire and £1.78 million for a Bus Service Improvement Plan in our county.

"For Hinckley and Bosworth we have seen £19.9m for a Conservation and Education Centre at Twycross Zoo and £24m for a testing unit at Hinckley Hospital, both of which have recently been given the green light for building work to start. I am so proud to help deliver these much needed improvements for our area.

"I am so pleased all the work is paying off with such significant investment taking place right where we all live. I will continue to fight to deliver more!"

The funding will be made available from 2025 to give local authorities enough time to develop their funding plans.

This investment will give local authorities the ability to invest in transport improvements from 2025 through to 2032 including: 

• Building new roads and improving junctions 
• Installing or expanding mass transit systems 
• Improving roads by filling in potholes and better street lighting for personal safety  
• Improving journey times for car and bus users by tackling congestion 
• Increasing the number of EV chargepoints 
• Refurbishing bus and rail stations 
• Improving our streets so they are safer to walk children to school and increasing accessibility for all.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “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.

“Through reallocating HS2 funding, we’re not only investing over £1 billion directly back into our smaller cities, towns and rural areas across the East Midlands, 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 billions of pounds of funding we’ve also invested into our roads, buses and local transport services across the country.”