Have your say on Lancashire's Levelling Up fund bid
People can now have their say on how Lancashire County Council will shape a £50 million levelling up bid which aims to bring investment to the east of the county.
To support jobs and businesses, provide for a greener environment, and improve the health of residents, the council is applying to the government's Levelling Up Fund and is asking local people to get involved in shaping these proposals.
The council has already assessed which areas of the county would be helped most by the fund, including looking at levels of employment, health, physical activity, air quality, car ownership, road accidents, walking and cycling, and bus and rail services.
Parts of East Lancashire will be the most likely to benefit and have the greatest potential to meet the fund’s objectives.
If Lancashire's bid is successful, it could secure up to £50 million in funding to develop a range of complementary projects that, when linked together, would significantly improve the quality of life and opportunities for people across the county but particularly in Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle and Rossendale.
It would help towards things like:
- changes to local streets, paths and open spaces to make local trips easier by walking and cycling
- faster and more reliable public transport to get people to work, education, shops, services and green spaces
- less reliance on our cars for local journeys
- improved road safety in local areas
Feedback from local people will be used to shape long term plans for improving local travel, and will inform the bid, which aims to deliver safer and healthier streets, improved public transport, and more opportunities for walking and cycling.
Phil Green, acting Executive Director of Growth, Environment and Transport, said: "Our funding bid for Lancashire will be ambitious and if successful would bring many benefits to the county. Before we submit our bid for investment in transport priorities, we want to know what people think would benefit their local area and help them to make healthier and greener travel choices.
"No specific schemes or locations are being decided at this stage. We are looking at what might be possible, and what would best serve our communities, whilst meeting the government's objectives for this funding. People’s feedback will help us to understand what’s important in different areas, as well as helping us to develop our bid further."
If Lancashire's bid is successful, more detailed proposals will be developed with input from partners and with close engagement with residents, organisations and businesses.
The survey is now live for people to tell us what is important to them and their local area. More information about the initial ideas for the bid and how to take part in the survey can be found at www.lancashire.gov.uk/LUFbid
The survey is open until 11 May 2022.
Notes to editors
The government's Levelling Up agenda is designed to improve opportunities for people across the UK by investing in infrastructure that improves everyday life for people in their local areas. The £4.8 billion fund will support a range of schemes across the UK and councils have been invited to submit bids for local transport projects.
The three themes identified for Lancashire's bid are:
Liveable Neighbourhoods
Liveable Neighbourhoods are streets and places that encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport - especially for short journeys. Changes to local streets, paths and open spaces are made to make travel easier between homes, jobs, shops and services
Public Transport service improvements - We want to improve public transport by introducing:
- Real time information at bus stops.
- Giving priority to buses in traffic.
- Hubs that help to make smooth changes between walking, cycling, buses and trains.
Active travel - We want to help people to walk and cycle for local trips, such as going to work or to the shop by making physical improvements to local routes, including safer and quieter off-road routes with more green space.
More information about the initial ideas and themes for the bid as well as how to contribute to the survey can be found at www.lancashire.gov.uk/LUFbid
Find out more about the government's plans for levelling up Levelling Up
If our bid is successful, we would expect the schemes to be finished by late 2025.