Huntingdonshire forced to compete for transport funding
Cllr Ian Bates, - Credit: Archant
HUNTINGDONSHIRE will have to compete with the rest of Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Rutland to get funding for major transport schemes.
However Councillor Ian Bates, cabinet member for growth and planning at Cambridgeshire County Council, said a new arrangement, which puts the district in a new Local Transport Body (LTB), would at least mean decisions about allocating money would rest with local councillors.
The Department for Transport is giving the Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Rutland group £21million to spend between 2015-19.
Cllr Bates, who represents The Hemingfords and Fenstanton, said: “It sounds like a lot but it’s not when you consider what it costs for major work. Major projects don’t come cheap.”
As a result the LTB, which is made up of three Cambridgeshire councillors, two from Peterborough and one from Rutland, will have to look at the growth across the area and prioritise the most important projects.
However he said: “The real message is that it’s coming down to a more local level and will be in the hands of councillors who know the local area.
“They will be able to make the right decision for those areas.”
Most Read
- 1 Karl Brockett writes about the history of St Ives
- 2 'He is our hero' - D-day veteran Wilf, 102, gets surprise visit
- 3 Mother pays tribute to “much-loved” son who died near Fen Drayton
- 4 Man who died in St Neots crash is named
- 5 House fire that killed two children will not have further electrical checks
- 6 One arrest and cars seized on busy day for cops
- 7 Cambridgeshire's Enhanced Area Status extended amid Covid surge in schools
- 8 Huntingdon town mayor supports launch of The Eclettica
- 9 Robber attempts to steal scratch card and alcohol from convenience store
- 10 Huge spike in safety complaints due to 'bedroom sellers' during pandemic
