Sheffield City Council to bid for £85m sustainable transport fund

Sheffield City Council, as part of Sheffield City Region (SCR), has announced it will ask for money from the ‘Transforming Cities Fund’ from the Department for Transport (DfT).

This could see £85 million invested in sustainable travel in Sheffield over three years, the council has said.

“We want to get people in Sheffield cycling, walking and using public transport more. But we know this is a big job and we need to support people to do this. These changes won’t happen overnight. That’s why we’re asking for this funding from government,” said Councillor Bob Johnson, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Development.

“If we are successful this money will pay for a mix of cycling, walking and bus corridors running throughout the city where we know they are most needed.”

These bids can only be put forward by Combined Authorities where they exist and in September 2018 SCR was confirmed as one of the areas across the country to have been shortlisted as eligible for the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF).

This work will build on earlier consultation during 2018 as part of the Sheffield City Council Transport Vision and Strategy.

“Our transport network here in South Yorkshire simply isn’t fit for purpose. That’s why, through our ambitious Transforming Cities bid, we aim to make it fit for the 21st century,” added Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region. “We’ll do this by improving our infrastructure and public transport services, to reduce congestion and journey times, enable more people to walk and cycle, create better access to major employment sites, and improve punctuality, affordability and reliability.”

It is expected that successful bids will be announced by DfT in March 2020. The programme will then run for three years – to be completed by March 2023.