Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
Government delivers £170 million transport funding for new housing
£170 million of funding is today being allocated to 29 transport projects that will support the development of new housing, announced Housing Minister Margaret Beckett and Transport Minister Paul Clark.
Good transport links are essential to any new housing development, and this funding will unlock the potential in several regions for delivering the new homes that will help to ease long-term housing need from first time buyers and families on waiting lists.
The 29 projects, paid for from the Community Infrastructure Fund, will deliver a range of new vital transport projects across the regions such as rapid bus routes, pedestrian and cycle bridges, and improvements to road junctions. They will also protect and create 2,200 jobs and directly support 40,000 new homes to be built over the next decade, which in turn will further support employment, as part of the Government's fiscal stimulus to support the economy in the current climate.
Margaret Beckett said:
"This funding will help to deliver new homes that we
desperately need to meet long term demand from first time buyers
and families on waiting lists. We know that good transport links
are vital to successful communities and these projects will unlock
the potential for new housing where it is needed. By investing
today in tomorrow's infrastructure we are helping to ensure
the foundations are in place to support economic recovery, while
also creating and safeguarding jobs right now."
Paul
Clark said:
"I am delighted by the quality and range of schemes that we are funding. Around 60 per cent of the schemes that we are supporting include sustainable transport initiatives - reflecting a real commitment to supporting housing growth through sustainable means.
"Transport is essential to supporting housing growth and the Community Infrastructure Fund is real evidence of the significant focus that Government places on this critical policy."
The 29 schemes allocated funding are all small to medium scale transport projects in locations that are committed to building more homes and are keen to deliver improvements to their transport infrastructure to support this growth, as part of the Government's specially designated Growth Areas and Growth Points programme.
The 29 schemes that have been allocated funding today show the important role transport infrastructure can play in developing new communities. The types of schemes include:
* New public transport facilities, such as the new South East Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit scheme;
* New road and junction improvements, such as the improvements to the Southgate area of Kings Lynn which will support the development of 900 new homes;
* Innovative transport solutions that will ensure smoother traffic flows and reduced congestion such as the A14 Ramp Metering scheme in Kettering and the Urban Traffic Management Scheme in Aylesbury; and
* Schemes to improve sustainability, such as the Wichestowe Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge which will provide a sustainable means for the new development at Wichelstowe to access the town centre in Swindon
Another 26 schemes are being invited to submit full business cases for consideration for a further £30m from the Community Infrastructure Fund together with any remaining funding from the first round. Decisions will be announced over the summer.
Reflecting the Government's commitment to promoting travel choice, as part of the action against climate change, over half the schemes announced today by Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport propose sustainable transport solutions such as bus routes, rail improvement or park and ride facilities, with some schemes covering a combination of travel modes.
The Community Infrastructure Fund is being managed on behalf of Government by the Homes and Communities Agency.
Notes to Editors
* The Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF) is a joint Communities and Local Government/Department for Transport fund specifically designed to fund transport schemes that support housing growth. The first CIF programme (CIF1) ran from 2006-2008.
* £300m has been ringfenced for a second CIF programmes (CIF2) for the CSR07 period, £100m for the Thames Gateway and £200m for the Growth Areas and Growth Points. Local authorities putting forward bids into the scheme were also able to take account of the impact of potential eco-towns in their area.
* This is part of the £1.7bn Communities and Local Government is investing across the Growth Areas, the Thames Gateway and Growth Points during the CSR07 period.
* The key criteria for schemes funding through CIF are that they should be vital locally to unlocking large housing development sites, enabling the acceleration of housing development and/ or improving the sustainability of major locations of housing growth.
* Today's announcement does two things. Firstly, it allocates £170m from CIF2 to fund 29 projects in the Growth Areas and the Growth Points.
* Secondly, it invites a further 26 projects to submit full business cases for consideration in the second round Growth Points including projects to provide a new rail station at Chorley, new cycling facilities at Ellesmere Port and road improvements to service high frequency bus services in Newcastle.
* This funding is in addition to the £833m already provided to the Growth Areas and Growth Points from the Growth Fund over the CSR07 period.
Schemes allocated funding under the Community Infrastructure Fund 2: Round 1
Project Name Growth Area/Growth Region Allocation
Point £m
Cambridge Gateway Cambridgeshire East 3
Postwick Hub, Norwich Greater Norwich East 21
(**) Development Partnership
Ipswich central area Haven Gateway East 3.45
transport improvements
New A12 Junction, Haven Gateway East 11.2
Colchester (**)
King's Lynn South King's Lynn East 5.3
Transport Major
First Avenue, London-Harlow-Stansted East 3.58
Multi-modal Corridor, Phase II, Harlow
A414 dualling, Harlow London-Harlow-Stansted East 9.9 (**)
Luton Parkway Station Luton & South East 1
(**) Bedfordshire
Waterside Sanvey Gate 3 Cities & 3 Counties East 1.85
Junction Improvement, Midlands Leicester
Birstall Park and Ride, 3 Cities & 3 Counties East 2.75
Leicester Midlands
A14 Kettering - Ramp North Northamptonshire East 1.3
Metering Midlands
Northampton Modal-Shift West Northamptonshire East 6.87
Measures Midlands
Northampton to North Northamptonshire East 5.3
Wellingborough Bus Midlands
Rapid Transit
Tottenham Hale Gyratory Haringey London 4 (**)
Victoria Way, Ashford Ashford South 16.5
East
Urban Traffic Aylesbury Vale South 4.55
Management & Control East
System, Aylesbury
Milton Keynes Busway Milton Keynes South 5.6
East
South East Hampshire Partnership for Urban South 20
Bus Rapid Transit South Hampshire East
Reading Station Reading South 4.37
Interchange East
Junction 30 Improvement Exeter & East Devon South 1.5
on M5, Exeter West
M5 Segregated Crossing, Exeter & East Devon South 5.5
Exeter West
Plymouth East End Plymouth South 9.78
Community Transport West Improvements
Wichelstowe Pedestrian Swindon South 2.09
& Cycle Bridge, Swindon West
Cole Hall Lane Bridge, Birmingham & Solihull West 2.11
Birmingham Midlands
Icknield Port Loop, Birmingham & Solihull West 2.87
Birmingham Midlands
Paragon Park, Coventry Coventry West 2.16
Midlands
Sustainable Transport, East Staffordshire West 3.3
Burton on Trent Midlands
A38 Grade Separated East Staffordshire West 6.5
Junction at Branston, Midlands
Burton on Trent
West of Worcester Bus Worcester West 3.2
Rapid Transit Corridor Midlands
170.53
(**) All schemes marked ** are subject to additional conditions being met.
Schemes in the 2nd Round Growth Points invited to submit full business cases for further consideration
PROJECT NAME GROWTH AREA/ POINT REGION TOTAL
BID(£)
Shoreham Harbour Shoreham South Coast South East 5.00
Regeneration
Chiverton Cross Junction Kerrier and South West 3.85
Improvements Restormel
Dover Priory Railway Dover South East 3.30
Station
West Bromwich Southern Black West Midlands 4.00
Distributor Country/Sandwell
Teignbridge - Newton Teignbridge South West 4
Abbot Infrastructure Package
Chorley Buckshaw Parkway Central Lancashire North West 3.30
and Blackpool
A23/235 Corridor - London Borough of London 8.00
Purley regenration and Croydon infrastructure
improvement and housing growth project
Gainsborough Transport Gainsborough East Midlands 5.00
Infrastructure
Tees Valley A19 (T)/ A66 Tees Valley North East 6.30
(T) Network Management Strategy
Access to Carlisle Carlisle North West 4.00
Housing Growth Points
Wirral Waters Mersey Heartlands North West 2.90
Dover - Junction Dover South East 1.61
Improvements to Prioritise Sustainable Transport
Dover -Sustainable Dover South East 0.50
transport interchange
Stafford New Growth Stafford West Midlands 2.65
Point Sustainable Transport Package
Chapelford and Bruche - Mid Mersey North West 1.76
Pedestrian and Cycle Accesibility
Ellesmere Port West Cheshire North West 0.75
Waterfront
Vale Royal - Access West Cheshire North West 1.65
Weaver Programme
Doncaster A638 - Quality Doncaster and South Yorkshire and 1.45
Bus Corridor and Cycle Yorkshire Humber Links
St Helens Cycle and Mid Mersey North West 0.26
Pedestrian Links to Stations
Pedestrian Route - Leeds City Region Yorkshire and 0.9
Beechnut Lane to Stuart Humber
Road Pontefract
Newcastle Quaylink (Q2) Newcatle and North East 0.93
Link Road Gateshead
Sedgefield - Merrington South and East North East 0.53
Lane Durham
Coundon Transport South and East North East 0.92
Solution Durham
A19/Peterlee Centre South and East North East 1.10
Durham
Dearne Valley Doncaster and South Yorkshire and 2.53
Improvement Package Yorkshire/ Leeds Humber
City Region
Rotherham Urban Centre - Doncaster and South Yorkshire and 2.37
Vehicle and Pedestrian Yorkshire Humber Access
70.1
Media Enquiries: 020 7944 3049
News Releases: http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsroom
