Council plans £3.2m cut to city transport schemes

Previous Connecting Leicester projects include the rebuilding of the city's St Margaret's bus station

More than £3m is set to be cut from the budget which funds new transport projects in Leicester.

Leicester City Council has proposed making the saving from funding set aside for the long-running Connecting Leicester scheme in the 2025/26 financial year.

The Connecting Leicester scheme has previously funded schemes including the revamp of the city's St Margaret's bus station, the refurbishment of city centre streets and the widening of its cycle lane network.

However, Leicester's mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said the scheme would be "paused" as the council attempted to balance its books over the next year.

Sir Peter Soulsby said road maintenance would continue but money for specific new schemes would be saved

The authority said the £3.2m to be cut from Connecting Leicester funds had not been allocated to any specific projects for the coming year.

"Our capital scheme is under pressure and we have to acknowledge we do not have the money to do all the things we would like to," said Soulsby.

"Road maintenance will, of course, continue but we will be pausing new Connecting Leicester projects for now.

"We hope the financial situation will improve in the coming years when we will look to continue building on the progress we have already made."

City councillors are due to meet on 19 February to vote on the 2025/26 budget proposals.