HS2 funding is coming soon
ALMOST £1.2 billion worth of reallocated HS2 funding is to be invested in improving West Midlands roads and public transport - but with restrictions.
The Government announced this week how money diverted from the cancelled leg of the HS2 will benefit the region.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced the West Midlands would receive nearly £1.2 billion from April 2025 through the Local Transport Fund.
But the cash is not allowed to be used in the most populated areas of large cities like Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry.
The new investment is specifically for communities outside “city regions”. Residents to benefit will be those in smaller cities, towns, villages, and rural areas when the cash arrives with local councils from next year until 2032.
It is good news for areas including Staffordshire, Worcestershire,
Warwickshire and Stokeon-trent. Councils can develop their own plans on how to spend the money from repairing potholes to building new roads, adding more electric vehicle charge points and revamping bus and train stations.
As part of the Midlands benefitting from reallocated HS2 funding, £1.75 billion is going towards Midlands Rail Hub and over £1 billion more was planned for the West Midlands Mayoral budget and strategic road improvements including fixing two major pinch points on the A5 between Hinckley and Tamworth.
The money comes from a pot of £36 billion that would have been spent on the High Speed Rail HS2 project before it was cutback. This Local Transport Fund is directed to the North and Midlands because the majority of HS2 savings are from those regions.
Some of the cash will go also towards extending the £2 bus fare cap across England, outside London, until the end of 2024.