The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A big chunk of the funding from the cancelled northern leg of HS2 is coming to Lincolnshire.
The county will get £262,339,000 over the next seven years to improve local roads and transport services across the region, writes Local Democracy Reporter Ellis Karran.
With this batch of funding being split across seven years, it works out at around £37.5 million per year for Lincolnshire — £2.5 million a year shy of Lincolnshire County Council’s £400 million target to clear the current highways repairs backlog and improve all roads to mint condition.
Lincolnshire has been given the largest chunk of this allocation, with nearby Rutland receiving £49 million and Leicestershire getting £238 million.
The Prime Minister said in a radio interview this change of plan from HS2 to localised transport funding is “the right priority” for the country.
“This is money that has resulted because of the decision I took on HS2 last year,” he said. “I’ve taken every penny of those billions that would have been spent on HS2 in the coming years, and reinvested that in the north and midlands on transport.
“That is what people are much more reliant on. It represents an almost unprecedented increase in the amount of money available for local areas to spend on the transport they care about — whether it’s local rail, road or bus services.”
But the Prime Minister wouldn’t answer whether this funding is basically reinstated money that was taken from the county council when its highways budget was slashed by 25% in recent years.
Yet Rishi Sunak mentioned an extra £600 million of wider funding for councils across the country, saying this translates to around 8.5 per cent more money than last year for local authorities to spend on services.
Despite this welcome boost to Lincolnshire’s highways pot, county councillors have still approved a 5% council tax hike for residents for 2024/25 — equating to an extra £1.44 per week for a Band D property.
Coun Richard Davies, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We cautiously welcome this news about the reallocation of HS2 funding, as this is something we’ve been calling for from central government for years.
“This seven-year commitment for about £37 million a year extra will mean a 30-40% increase in our maintenance budget over that time, allowing us to build on the work we’re currently doing, including filling 1,000 potholes a week.”
Coun Davies added that large sections of the county’s well documented pothole backlog can now be tackled with this funding commitment, and said it was “really refreshing to see Lincolnshire not getting overlooked.”
“With an extra £37 million a year, we can clear a lot of our pothole backlog, improve a lot of roads and junctions, and enhance public transport in the county.
“It’s really refreshing to see Lincolnshire not getting overlooked, and we very much look forward to understanding more about this funding, including whether it is actually additional funding and also whether the funding will be guaranteed following the next general election.
“From there, we’ll look forward to having our local MPs on side so we can make the most of what’s being offered.”
It will go alongside the £2.5 million of additional highways funding outlined in Lincolnshire County Council’s budget for 2024/25.
As well as the billion-pound transport funding, the Department for Transport has also rolled out an additional £200 million to extend the £2 bus fare cap for areas outside of London.
This will remain in operation until the end of 2024, with the government saying it is a scheme that has benefitted millions of people since its introduction at the start of 2023.
