Transport £752m funding won't be Bristol-centric, says Mayor

THE “unprecedented” £752 million of transport funding handed to West of England Metro Mayor Helen Godwin last month will not be “Bristol-centric,’ she has insisted.

- Alex SEABROOK Local democracy reporter

The region was told in June it would receive three quarters of a billion for transport over the next five years, as the Government announced £15.6bn for transport across nine mayoral combined authorities in England.

Ms Godwin said that in the West of England made up of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset - the money would be spent on improving buses, increasing the frequency of suburban railways, some road improvements and fixing potholes, and developing a mass transit system for the area.

Bath and North East Somerset Council leader Kevin Guy hailed the funding as a “turning point” for transport when it was announced. But at a meeting of the West of England Combined Authority's scrutiny committee on Monday, Bath and North East Somerset councillor Lucy Hodge said: “After initial optimism around the announcement of a £750 million TCR [Transforming City Regions] funding in June comes the sobering reality of what we might be left with at unitary level to complete our active travel ambitions.”