It has been announced that Leicestershire and Rutland are set to receive £287,495,000 from the Government's Local Transport Fund: 

Leicestershire's share of the Local Transport Fund will be £238,154,000, while Rutland's share of the Local Transport Fund will total £49,341,000.

The funding will be spread over a seven-year period and is due to be invested from April 2025 to give councils time to develop plans for this funding boost. 

This historic level of funding is from the Local Transport Fund which delivers on the Government's commitment made in the Network North plan and is paid for by savings from the HS2 project. 

The plan will ensure millions of people in the North and the Midlands benefit from better public transport, reduced congestion and upgraded local bus and train stations from the new £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund. £2.2 billion from this fund will go to the Midlands across the next seven years (2025-2032). 

This funding comes on top of the £149 million uplift for Leicestershire and Rutland in Government Roads Resurfacing Funding over the next ten years. 

Department for Transport guidelines set out what the money could be spent on. This includes: 

• Building new roads and improving junctions. 
• Installing or expanding 'mass transit system's (e.g trains). 
• Improving roads by filling in potholes and better street lighting for personal safety. 
• Improving journey times for care and bus users by tackling congestion. 
• Increasing the number of electric vehicle charge points. 
• Refurbishing bus and rail stations. 
• Improving our streets so they are safer to walk children to school and increasing accessibility for all. 

It will be for locally elected representatives – councils, working with local MPs – to decide how the money will be spent. 

Alicia Kearns, Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, said: "This funding boost is wonderful news for our communities, and will completely transform our transport infrastructure to deliver smoother, faster and safer journeys locally. 

"The Government's Local Transport Fund represents an unprecedented opportunity to invest in our local transport network, and I look forward to working with our councils to ensure we make the most of this funding and deliver the reliable transport infrastructure our communities rely on." 

Mark Harper MP, Transport Secretary, said: "The £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."