Press Release
Monday 26th February 2024
Daniel Kawczynski MP Welcomes £136 million of Reallocated HS2 Funding for Shropshire Council
- The Conservative Government is sticking with the plan to reallocate £36 billion of HS2 funding into long-term local transport improvements – benefitting more people in more places, more quickly.
- The £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund is the latest part of this plan being delivered. £136 million is being provided to Shropshire Council to improve local transport, helping people across Shrewsbury benefit from the transport improvements that matter most to local people.
- The Conservative Government is sticking to its long-term plan to transform how people travel – improving public transport, reducing congestion and upgrading local bus and train stations to help create jobs, grow the economy and level up our communities.
Daniel Kawczynski MP has welcomed £136 million for Shropshire Council as part of the Conservative Government’s long-term plan to level up local transport in Shrewsbury.
Millions of people in the North and Midlands are set to benefit from £4.7 billion of further investment in local transport made possible by reallocated HS2 funding, with money to improve public transport, reduce congestion and upgrade local bus and train stations.
It is the first transport budget of its kind that is specifically targeted at smaller cities, towns, and rural areas. It empowers local people and leaders to invest in the transport projects that matter most to their communities.
Shropshire Council will receive £136 million to improve the local transport connections that people rely on daily, providing almost 11 million people across the region with nearly nine times more transport funding.
Local authorities will receive funding from April 2025, giving them time to develop their funding proposals and prepare to hit the ground running to start delivering them as early as possible. Over the seven years as a whole, this funding will be, on average, at least nine times more than these local authorities currently receive through the local integrated transport block, which is the current mechanism for funding local transport improvements in their areas.
The announcement comes as part of the Conservative Government’s long-term plan to reallocate the £36 billion saved from HS2 Phase 2 into local transport improvements across the country – benefitting more people in more places more quickly than the entire HS2 project would have done.
This funding increase is for the North and the Midlands because most HS2 savings are from those regions. Savings from Euston ensure the rest of the country receives extra transport investment, too, from our decision to cancel HS2 Phase 2.
All of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North, and all of the £9.6 billion dedicated to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands. The £6.5 billion saved through our new approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country.
The Conservative Government delivers this unprecedented funding uplift across the North and Midlands as it sticks to its long-term plan to create jobs, grow the economy and level up the country, building a brighter future for all.
Commenting, Daniel Kawczynski MP said:
‘By redirecting money that would have been spent on HS2, we are already seeing more investment in local transport in Shrewsbury, including more money to fill potholes and extending the £2 bus fare cap.
‘People rely on local transport connections every day, and it is essential that we get the investment we need to keep us moving. This additional funding will significantly impact our local transport infrastructure, which I know matters so much to our community.
‘Meanwhile, Labour would put this at risk as they don’t have a plan to improve local transport – they can’t even say if they back our plan to reallocate HS2 savings into local transport improvements.
‘Working with the Conservative Government, we are levelling up Shrewsbury and transforming how people travel, as part of our long-term plan to invest in the things that matter most to local people and build a brighter future for everyone.’
Commenting, Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport, said:
‘Today’s £4.7 billion investment is truly game-changing for the smaller cities, towns, and rural communities across the North and the Midlands and is only possible because this Government has a plan to improve local transport and is willing to take tough decisions like reallocating funding from the second phase of HS2.
‘This funding boost will make a real difference to millions of people, empowering local authorities to drive economic growth, transform communities, and improve the daily transport connections that people rely on for years to come.’
ENDS
Scott Sherlock | Senior Parliamentary Assistant
0207-219-6249 | 07915-569-120
[email protected]
Office of Daniel Kawczynski MP
Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury and Atcham
House of Commons | London | SW1A 0AA
