£7m on way for green transport schemes in region

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced yesterday that three schemes in the region were among more than 30 across the country to have successfully bid for sustainable transport funding.

More than half the money will go to North East Lincolnshire Council, which has been granted £4.3m to improve public transport in Grimsby.

The town centre bus station will be completely overhauled, with new waiting areas, real-time bus information and CCTV, while pedestrian and cycle links in the town will also be improved.

Hull will receive £1.8m from to overhaul cycle networks and introduce electronic “smartcards” on buses in the city for the first time.

New bus shelters with real-time information boards will also be rolled out across the city.

And Goole will receive almost £1m for improved cycle lanes and cycle parking areas around the town, along with a much-needed upgrade of its subways.

The DfT said much of the Goole money would be spent filling in “gaps” in the cycle network which currently discourage people from getting on their bicycle.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said: “The schemes we are funding will benefit those living in Yorkshire by cutting carbon emissions, reducing congestion and stimulating economic growth in the area.

“By investing in these schemes we are signalling our commitment to green growth which will help to kick-start economic activity in the region while improving access to healthier forms of transport and addressing the problem of climate change.”

The £112m funding is the second tranche from the Government’s pot of more than half a billion pounds set aside for local sustainable transport schemes.

Yorkshire has now received £22m in total. The final round of successful bids will be announced next month.