Transport schemes across England, designed to boost economic growth and reduce carbon emissions, were given the go ahead today thanks to £155 million of Government investment.

Thirty-nine projects have won funding as part of the first allocation from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. They cover eight regions and a total of 37 local authorities, with many more as partners. All have been judged to be effective against the fund’s two key objectives of creating growth and cutting carbon.

The successful schemes also include a variety of measures such as smart ticketing, the promotion of infrastructure for electric vehicles, bus and rail improvement measures, cycling and walking and are designed to link together to create a sustainable transport package that delivers economic growth.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said: "I am delighted to be able to fund these excellent projects.

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"All the winning schemes have one thing in common – they will help build strong local economies while addressing the urgent challenge of climate change.

"We have empowered local authorities to create packages of sustainable initiatives that are tailored for their local areas, and this is only the beginning – even more funding will be announced next summer following a second round of bids."

An independent panel with expertise in delivering sustainable transport has been appointed to advise Ministers on the bids including representatives from the British Chamber of Commerce, the Campaign for Better Transport and the local authority

body ADEPT.

The expert panel said: "We were delighted to see that many local authorities had submitted high quality bids which will deliver economic growth in a low carbon way. We welcome the Department's decision to involve people from outside Government, with a wide range of expertise, in the assessment of the bids. We look forward to seeing the words in the bids transformed into actions on the ground."

Richard Hebditch, Campaigns Director at Campaign for Better Transport, said: "We’re really pleased that these areas will receive funding from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. We’ve long called for funding for these kinds of programmes, which we know from the pilot Sustainable Transport Towns can cut congestion and cut carbon. We're looking forward to seeing the practical results which I'm sure will make a big difference to these areas."

(CD/KMcA)