£1m fund to be used to improve public transport

Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns says she wants to see investment in rural areas

More than £1m of government funding will be spent on plans to improve public transport in Lincolnshire.

It comes after the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA), which was set up as part of a devolution deal, was granted greater powers over transport in the county.

At a meeting last week, members of the GLCCA's transport board were told the money would be specifically used to tackle the lack of public transport in rural areas.

Lincolnshire County Council has received £367,996, North East Lincolnshire Council has been given £133,834 and £138,048 has been allocated to North Lincolnshire Council.

The GLCCA said it would use the remaining £423,722 to develop its Greater Lincolnshire local transport plan.

Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who leads the combined authority, said she wanted to see the funds being used where they were needed most.

"We've seen across the county, certain parts of the county, which have had zero investment," she said.

"We've got to make sure that we serve these forgotten communities, while at the same time making sure that we have the balance right and have a strategic overview," she added.

Meanwhile, Councillor Craig Leyland, leader of East Lindsey District Council, said: "For residents, and certainly for my residents, we want to see the mayoral combined authority deliver things that have been lacking for some years and are strategic to our area.

"The idea of fairer funding is probably not necessarily the point here. It's about strategic needs and the direction of travel," he said.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, members of the GLCCA are due to meet with ministers next year to press for more funding for public transport and "raise the profile" of rural areas.

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