Transport Minister
Sadiq Khan today issued a challenge to local authority and city
leaders to be bold and innovative in developing transport strategies.
The minister was speaking at an event in London to launch the
Urban Challenge Fund – a new funding scheme designed to support
packages of measures that will deliver a wide range of transport improvements.
Cities will only be eligible to receive money from the fund if
they can show their plans will: improve journey choice, tackle
congestion, improve safety; lower carbon emissions; and promote
healthier lifestyles through better air quality and more walking
and cycling.
The Government firmly believes imaginatively planned, well
delivered transport can deliver for all these agendas, not just
one or two.
Sadiq Khan said:
“The last decade of record investment has delivered thousands of
infrastructure improvements, both big and small, in our towns and
cities up and down the country. But we can do more.
“Given the environmental and financial challenges we face, it is
more important than ever that urban transport planning is embedded
in broader economic and spatial planning. That sounds obvious, but
the extent to which urban authorities have been successful in
doing this varies tremendously.
“The Urban Challenge Fund is designed to support cities that want
to deliver economic, health and environmental improvements at the
same time, and are prepared to take the bold decisions needed to
make that happen. This new fund will help to create a cleaner,
safer and more prosperous future for generations to come.”
The new fund will replace the Congestion Transport Innovation
Fund which was established to support towns and cities in tackling
congestion through local road pricing schemes. The Urban Challenge
Fund will support wider packages of measures that not only tackle
congestion but offer greater choice for transport users, improve
safety, reduce air pollutants and carbon emissions and improve the
living environment. This new approach will stimulate greater
innovation amongst local authorities and appeal to a broader range
of cities.
The proposals were outlined in a discussion paper published today
which local authorities and stakeholders will be invited to
comment on. Cities and authorities will be invited to submit
proposals on the basis of a published set of criteria after the
next spending review.
Notes to Editors
1. The Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit report on urban transport
and DfT response “The Future of Urban Transport” published in
November 2009 identified that initiatives geared to tackling
simultaneously the various transport challenges faced by urban
areas would better support economic growth and deliver
improvements to health and the urban environment.
2. The Urban Challenge Fund will help urban areas to improve the
environment and health of their residents and secure best returns
from transport investment. To be eligible, authorities would need
to offer clear strategies that incorporate ambitious targets for a
wider range of outcomes than just congestion, together with the
local leadership and tight governance needed to make this a
reality.
3. These strategies will build on the strategies and
implementation plans now being developed for the next round of
Local Transport Plans (LTPs) due in April 2011. The new Fund will
be designed to realise a step change in the delivery of
improvements over and above that identified in LTPs.
4. The underlying aim of the new Fund is to deliver clear
benefits in terms of:
- enhanced mobility through offering people wider choices for
their journeys;
- reduced congestion and increased journey time reliability;
- better health as a result of improved safety and much greater
levels of walking and cycling;
- streets and public spaces which are enjoyable places to be,
where exposure to harmful emissions is reduced and where quality
of life is transformed
- improved safety; and
- reduced level of carbon emission from transport.
5. Funding for the Urban Challenge Fund will be top-sliced from
the Department’s overall funding allocation following conclusion
of the next Comprehensive Spending Review.
6. The new fund will incorporate the sustainable travel
programme for cities ensuring that these measures are an essential
component of the transport tool kit for urban areas.
Press Enquires: 020 7944 3066
Out of Hours: 020 7944 4292 Public
Enquiries: 0300 330 3000
Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk
Contacts:
Local Transport
Phone: 020 7944 3066
nds.dft@coi.gsi.gov.uk