Derby City Council has submitted a joint outline business case with Nottingham City Council for up to £188m of funding to improve public transport, reduce congestion and better connect the two cities as part of the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund.

Proposed projects include:

  • Improving bus priority by using advanced technologies for urban and inter-urban bus services operating along key growth corridors between Derby, Nottingham and the East Midlands Airport employment zone, and within the two-cities’ urban areas. This included upgrading and extending the network of tram and bus-based Park & Ride sites across the area.
  • Major public realm, walking and cycling investments focused on ongoing and allocated housing and employment developments in the immediate vicinities of Derby and Nottingham’s main rail and bus stations – improving links from them to the city centre and the new developments.
  • Key strategic cycling improvements identified through the D2N2 LCWIP. Priority schemes included lighting and widening the traffic-free Derby Riverside Path and Canal Path routes, and the extension of Nottingham’s cycle routes though the Boots Enterprise Zone and Beeston to the edge of the urban area. The development of the LCWIP has identified opportunities to link these arterial urban cycle routes through green gaps between Derby, Nottingham and the airport.

This follows on from an earlier successful joint bid of over £8m funding from phase one of the Transforming Cities Fund which aims to encourage growth through investment in sustainable transport, and included funding for:

  • new bus priority at five key junctions along the A52
  • smart cameras that will collect data on key routes to improve journey reliability and reduce congestion for all traffic
  • new cycling route from Derby toward Nottingham along the former Spondon Canal
  • funding for bike hire schemes in Derby and Nottingham

The final business case will be submitted in November 2019.

Councillor Matthew Holmes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transportation said:

As a council, we are committed to improving infrastructure to enable our businesses to grow and people to have better access to jobs and learning. We also want to work collaboratively with our neighbours and businesses across the region to address the continuing imbalance in Government funding between the East Midlands and the South East. The National Infrastructure Commission said last year in their National Infrastructure Assessment that where cities can demonstrate credible joined-up plans that show how infrastructure can release housing and employment, they should be given the devolved powers and funding to be able to invest in their areas. If we are successful later in the year, this funding will help us make a difference in air quality, cutting carbon emissions and making all sustainable transport in the city more accessible and more attractive to people. We very much look forward to continuing to work closely with Nottingham City Council, transport providers and partners to improve connectivity around the region.

The Department for Transport launched the Transforming Cities Fund in 2018 with 12 city-regions invited to bid for funding from a total pot of £1.28 billion.