£349,115,000 OF REALLOCATED HS2 FUNDING FOR CHESHIRE LOCAL TRANSPORT

A local MP has welcomed £349,115,000 for Cheshire as part of the Government’s long-term plan to level up local transport in Eddisbury.

Millions of people in the North are set to benefit from £4.7 billion of further investment in local transport made possible by reallocated HS2 funding, with money to improve public transport, reduce congestion, and upgrade local bus and train stations. 

It is the first transport budget targeted explicitly at smaller cities, towns, and rural areas, and it empowers local people and leaders to invest in the local transport projects that matter most to their communities.

Cheshire will receive £349,115,000 to improve the local transport connections that people rely on daily, providing almost 11 million people across the region with nearly 9 times more transport funding.

Local authorities will receive the funding from April 2025, giving them time to develop their proposals, prepare to hit the ground running, and deliver them as early as possible.

Over the seven years, this funding will be, on average, at least nine times more than these local authorities currently receive through the local integrated transport block—the current mechanism for funding local transport improvements.

The announcement comes as part of the Government’s plan to reallocate the £36 billion saved from HS2 Phase 2 into local transport improvements across the country—benefitting more people, in more places, more quickly than the complete HS2 project would have done.

This funding increase is for the North and the Midlands because most HS2 savings stem from those regions. Savings from Euston ensure the rest of the country receives extra transport investment, too. 

The entirety of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North.

The Government is delivering this unprecedented funding uplift across the North as it sticks to its long-term plan to create jobs, grow the economy, and level up the country. 

Edward Timpson, Member of Parliament for Eddisbury, commented:

“By redirecting money that would have been spent on HS2, we are already seeing more investment in local transport in Cheshire, including more money to fill potholes, and extending the £2 bus fare cap.

“People rely on local transport connections daily, and we must receive the investment we need to keep us moving. This additional funding will make a big difference to our local transport infrastructure, which I know matters so much to our community, and was one of my crucial policy focuses at the last election.

“Working with the Government, we are levelling up Eddisbury and transforming how people travel.”

Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, added:

“Today’s £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 the 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.”