Torbay’s MP Kevin Foster has welcomed news Torbay Council will receive £7,193,000 of extra funding for highways, as money originally planned to be spent on HS2 is redirected by the Government.
This week Transport Secretary Mark Harper set out the allocations of £8.3 billion of funding redirected from HS2, this follows the Government’s decision to scrap future phases of HS2. This is enough to resurface over 5,000 miles of road across the country over the next 11 years. Torbay Council has been allocated £7.1m of extra funding as part of this plan.
Across England, local highway authorities will receive a total of £150 million this financial year, followed by a further £150 million for 2024/2025, with the rest of the funding allocated through to 2034. Each local authority, including Torbay Council, can use its share of the £8.3 billion to identify what local roads are in most need of repair and deliver immediate improvements for communities and residents.
Torbay Council will receive £230,000 this financial year, followed by a further £230,000 for 2024-25, as part of a long-term funding plan through to 2034. This funding comes on top of the local transport, road and rail budgets allocated at the last Spending Review and in addition to what local authorities were already expecting for the next decade.
Since May there has been a welcome focus from Torbay Council’s Conservative Leadership on getting overdue road resurfacing and safety projects underway, including a pedestrian crossing on Barton Road, line marking works and various resurfacing schemes. This additional funding will mean even more can be achieved over the coming years.
Kevin Foster MP said: “Getting roads repaired is one of the issues most often raised with me, so it is good to see this extra funding coming to our bay directly as a result of the decision to scrap further phases of HS2.”
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