Funding for Innovation: Opening Local Authority Transport Data
The Department of Transport (DfT) is running a competition to help local authorities in opening up the transport data they collect. Government research has identified this data to be valuable resource that is currently under-utilised as access to it is limited and the data is often presented in a way that doesn’t make it easily accessible.
Cambridgeshire County Council has therefore submitted a bid for funding that will not only allow us to open up the key transport data we already collect but also to present it in ways that will make it a much more useful open data asset.
Cycle Safety Funding 2018
As part of the Cycle City Ambition programme the Department for Transport has made available £7m capital funding in 2018-19 to the existing Cycle Ambition Cities, including Greater Cambridge, through a competitive bidding process. Proposed schemes will need to improve safety for cyclists and may also deliver co-benefits for pedestrians. For Cambridgeshire, only schemes in the Greater Cambridge Cycle City area are eligible.
Cambridgeshire County Council submitted two proposals in February 2018. The Department for Transport announced the funding results on 12 June 2018.
£550,000 has been awarded to the Cambridge Fendon Road Dutch style roundabout scheme. This capital grant will complement £250,000 of local funding from Section 106 developer contributions. The successful proposed scheme is described in the application form (section A2).
National Productivity Investment Fund 2018 to 2020
As part of the Autumn Statement 2016, the Government announced the creation of the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) for investment in areas that are key to boosting productivity, digital communications, research & development and housing. Funding for 2017-18 was allocated to local highways authorities on non-competitive basis. The County Council was allocated £2.9m and will spend this on these schemes.
The Department for Transport subsequently announced that £490m from the NPIF would be available through a competitive bidding process for spend in financial year 2018-19 and 2019-20.
The County Council submitted two bids in June 2017 with the support of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership. The first bid was for March junctions improvements and the second bid was for Wisbech development access improvements. These two bids joined two other bids from Peterborough City Council. All bids focus on reducing congestion and enabling housing and employment development.
The Department for Transport announced in October that the two Peterborough bids were successful. The Peterborough scheme A605/B1095 Stanground East Junction Improvement is just over the border west of Whittlesey, and so will benefit Cambridgeshire residents in the north of the county. Please see below for more information about the Cambridgeshire schemes.
Safer Roads Fund
Cambridgeshire County Council has submitted an application to the Department for Transport Safer Roads Fund for delivery in 2017/18 and 2018/19. The Council were invited to submit proposals to improve road safety along a 6.6km section of the A1303 between Stow-Cum-Quy and Newmarket. This follows its identification as one of 50 specific sections of local ‘A’ road, where the risk of fatal and serious collisions is highest, based on analysis of collision data between 2012 and 2014 by the Road Safety Foundation. Please find details of the application and supporting evidence below.
Challenge Fund
Cambridgeshire County Council has submitted an application for the Challenge Fund Tranche 2B for funding to be allocated in 2019-20. Please find details of the application and supporting evidence below. Additionally the Council has submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) an expression of interest for funding in 2020-21. Please find a copy of the expression of interest and supporting evidence below.
Cycle City Ambition Grants 2015 to 2018
Following the success of the current funding from the Cycle City Ambition Grant programme for the Greater Cambridge Cycle City project (GC3), Cambridgeshire County Council has applied and succeeded with a bid for £6 million funding from the Department for Transport’s extended Cycling Ambition programme. This funding will complement £4.5 million of local contributions from private and public sources.
With this investment, the package of proposed schemes will contribute towards achieving the walking and cycling vision for the Greater Cambridge cycle city area and the Government’s Cycling Delivery Plan. The proposed schemes are described in the application form (section B4).
The Government announced on 27 November 2014 a £114 million extension to the existing Cycling Ambition grant programme. The funding is for the 8 existing cycle cities including Cambridge and will cover a three year period starting April 2015.
Cycle City Ambition Grant 2013 to 2015
£4.1 million of investment was received from the Department for Transport's Cycle City Ambition Grant, to achieve a transformational increase in the level of cycling in the Cambridge City Region. This funding will complement the local contribution of another £4.1 million from Cambridgeshire private and public sectors.
The bid for the Greater Cambridge Cycle City project (GC3) was developed with the Cambridge City Region partners, including Cambridge City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and other stakeholders, for example, Cambridgeshire Public Health. The package of proposed schemes is described in the application form (section B4).
The funding announcement was made on 12 August 2013 and the government funding will be spent by March 2015. However, the GC3 project will continue beyond 2015 to achieve the long term cycling ambition in Cambridgeshire.
Local Transport Body for Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Rutland
The Department for Transport aims to devolve funding for major transport schemes to Local Transport Bodies (LTBs) from April 2015 onwards. Cambridgeshire County Council, Peterborough City Council and Rutland County Council set up the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough (GCGP) LTB in 2013.
Following further changes in the Government’s devolved funding arrangements, capital funding for growth including LTB major scheme funding is being devolved to Local Enterprise Partnerships. GCGP LTB funding is incorporated in the Local Growth Fund secured through the GCGP Growth Deal. Funding allocations were announced in July 2014 and January 2015.
An independent technical evaluation has been completed for one of the LTB schemes for funding in 2015. The Bourges Boulevard Phase 1 scheme in Peterborough has been assessed by an Independent Technical Advisor to establish the scheme’s value for money.
