Cheshire East Council to receive £180 million transport funding

Cheshire East Council is to be allocated more than £180 million to be invested in improving local transport, the Government has announced.

It’s part of the £1.5 billion of reallocated HS2 funding being invested in the North West through the Local Transport Fund.

Neighbouring Cheshire West and Chester is to be allocated £168 million, while Warrington gets £121 million.

The aim is to improve public transport, reduce congestion on roads and upgrade bus and train stations.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Transport Secretary Mark Harper today confirmed the funding, with money to be released in 2025 and over a seven-year period.

The Government says the aim is to “empower local communities and local leaders to invest in the transport projects that matter most to their areas”.

Over the seven years, the funding will be on average at least nine times more than these local authorities currently receive through the local integrated transport block.

But Mr Sunak said Ministers and MPs will “hold local authorities to account to ensure funding is used appropriately and that the voices of local communities are heard” when decisions are made.

He said: “Through reallocating HS2 funding, we’re not only investing nearly £1.5 billion directly back into smaller cities, towns, and rural areas across the North West, 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 the billions of pounds of funding we’ve already invested into our roads, buses and local transport services across the country.”

Edward Timpson, MP for Eddisbury, said: “By redirecting money that would have been spent on HS2, we are already seeing more investment in local transport in Cheshire, including more money to fill potholes, and extending the £2 bus fare cap.

“People rely on local transport connections daily, and we must receive the investment we need to keep us moving.

“This additional funding will make a big difference to our local transport infrastructure, which I know matters so much to our community, and was one of my crucial policy focuses at the last election.

“Working with the Government, we are levelling up Eddisbury and transforming how people travel.”

The funding can be invested 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
Improving journey times for car and bus users by tackling congestion
Increasing number of EV chargepoints
Refurbishing bus and rail stations
Improving streets where children walk to school and increasing accessibility for all

Local councils will have to publish their delivery plans for which projects they wish to invest in.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Today’s £1.48 billion investment is truly game-changing for the smaller cities, towns, and rural communities across the North West.

“This new funding boost will make a real difference to millions of people in the North West, empowering local authorities to drive economic growth, transform communities, and improve the daily transport connections that people rely on for years to come.”

For some, the funding will not do enough to mask the blow of HS2 no longer being extended to Crewe, which could attracted billions in investment.

But today’s announcement follows £1.2 billion to resurface hundreds of miles of local roads in the North West, with the first tranche of funding already being delivered.

A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council, said: “We note the announcement this week from Government that Cheshire East has been allocated £180m of funding through the Local Transport Fund, which is to be spent on improving local transport infrastructure and services over the next seven years from April 2025.

“While the total amount of funding has been allocated, we are still awaiting further information from the Department for Transport on the scope and delivery requirements of the fund.

“Until we have this, we are not yet able to share any specific details about how we plan to utilise the funding. However, the funding we receive will be used in line with the long-term plans and ambitions set out in the council’s adopted Local Transport Plan, which will be refreshed shortly.”