The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has published guidance for mayoral combined authorities developing proposals for city region sustainable transport settlements.
The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) investment in local transport networks aims to improve the quality of eight local public transport networks for the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, the North East, Tees Valley, West Yorkshire, Sheffield City Region, and the West of England around Bristol and Bath.
According to the DfT, the quality of local transport networks in the city regions are a “weakness affecting their productivity”.
The new fund stems from an announcement made in 2019 that the city regions would receive £4.2bn of additional funding for local transport networks.
The DfT is proposing it will add sums equivalent to current annual funding for the Integrated Transport Block (ITB) and Highways Maintenance funding, including the Potholes Action Fund.
The CRSTS aims to work and deliver in the same way as the settlement established over the last two decades in London, creating a more consolidated and devolved model of transport funding and delivering significant improvements for users, according to the DfT.
The DfT said the funding could be the first of a series of five-year transport settlements for the city regions.
The CRSTS sits alongside other local funding streams, such as the DfT’s £5bn commitment for buses and cycling and its £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, which will still be available to the city regions.
Regions will be able to access these and most other funding pots in the usual way, said the DfT, including the funding for the Major Road Network and Large Local Majors projects, and local EV charging infrastructure funds, alongside the CRSTS, to support delivery of their transport priorities, and subject to decisions at Spending Review 2021.
