Major £70m transport improvement programme in Leicester to take important step forward

Council set to approve £6.9m contribution to support more walking, cycling and use of public transport

Plans to make £70 million of improvements to encourage more people to walk, cycle and use public transport in Leicester is set to take an important step forward.

Leicester City Council is set to contribute £6.9 million of match funding following a successful bid for £32 million from the Government’s Transforming City Fund.

Now, the authority is set to approve its financial contribution on Monday.

The cash will contribute to an overall package of investment expected to be about £70 million once match funding from all partners is included.

This will fund a series of projects to improve the journey times, quality and reliability of the city’s bus services, and extend the city council’s Connecting Leicester programme to support more cycling and walking routes into city neighbourhoods.

The projects will focus on major sustainable transport improvements to provide attractive choices for people to get to work.

Schemes include the development of new bus priority corridors linking to city neighbourhoods and suburbs and continuing to develop cycling and walking routes throughout the city.

The new cash will also pay for the electrification of the Park and Ride services from Enderby Park and Meynells Gorse at a cost of around £3 million.

The council has entered into a contract with Leeds-based provider Pelican Yutong to provide electric buses for Park and Ride.

Five buses are already on order for the Birstall service at a cost of £1.9 million, and eight more are due to be ordered. The 13-strong fleet of electric buses is expected to be in operation by early 2021.

City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “The major investment we are making as a council is helping to secure many more millions of pounds of government funding from the Transforming Cities Fund.

“This will allow us to move forward with our ambitious sustainable transport schemes for cyclists, pedestrians and bus passengers and to deliver a greener solution for the future growth of our city and its economy.

“The programme will also build on the transformational work we have already delivered through our Connecting Leicester programme and provides a strong platform for long-term investment in future public transport improvements.”