City-region set to begin to draw down on £1 billion transport settlement

Greater Manchester’s 10 council leaders are expected to agree to begin drawing down on £1 billion government funding to deliver transport improvements across the city-region.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has been recommended to approve draw down requests for funding made available through the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement awarded in April. The £1 billion award will be distributed to support Transport for Greater Manchester projects across all 10 boroughs.

Among the projects set to benefit are various improvements to bus connections throughout Greater Manchester, including the delivery of zero emission buses, and accessibility improvements for a number of smaller railway stations, including Reddish North in Stockport.

The largest project set to receive a share of the funding in this first draw down is the walking and cycling ramp connecting the town’s new bus interchange, currently under construction and due to complete in Spring 2024, a rooftop park and the River Mersey. The ramp will facilitate active travel routes into Stockport town centre via the Transpennine Trail route that follows the River Mersey, and current regeneration projects along the riverside, including at Weir Mill and on the former Sainsbury’s supermarket site. The project is expected to require £3.6 million funding to deliver on the designs that were revealed in January 2022.

The active travel ramp was originally excluded from funding allocated for Stockport Interchange, and is also hoping to secure additional funds from the government’s Levelling Up Fund, with Stockport Council agreeing to making up any shortfall either as funder of last resort, or via additional sources. A bridge to improve walking and cycling links between the bus interchange and the railway station and business hub at Stockport Exchange is also going ahead using funding already allocated for the new bus station.

GMCA will meet to formally approve the funding draw down in its meeting on Friday 25th November at 10.30am.