Positive about Transport Bid
Rutland County Council remains hopeful of getting £4.8 million of government funding to help pay for a new transport hub, on-demand bus service, tourist bus and new bike facilities.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced (24 May) that the application to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund is still “under consideration” and that a final decision will be made by the end of June.
Council Leader Roger Begy: “We now know we’ll have a definite answer on our funding bid within the next six weeks. It’s always difficult to anticipate which way the decision will go but we still remain hopeful that we’ll receive a positive outcome. The Rutland bid is extremely well put together and will give us the opportunity to substantially improve our transport infrastructure across the county”.
Councillor Begy added: “It goes without saying that we would have preferred to be one of the projects confirmed earlier in the process, but when you consider lots of submissions have already been rejected, we still feel we are in with a good chance of securing the funds. During the next six weeks, we’ll be doing all we can to give our bid the best chance of being successful”.
The bid from Rutland County Council is to improve Transport throughout the county through a series of new and exciting initiatives:
- Sustainable Transport – A new hub at Oakham Railway Station to join together train, bus and taxi services in one location.
- On Demand Bus – Following the success of Call Connect, an on-demand bus service would be introduced across the whole county.
- Tourist Bus – With 1.2 million people visiting Rutland Water each year, a tourist bus would link the reservoir with Oakham and Uppingham.
- Cycle Facilities – New cycle depots will be placed in strategic locations e.g. at the train station and in our town centres
You can read the full Rutland County Council Local Sustainable Transport Fund submission online.
