HS2: Councils to get £567m of 'reallocated' funds

More than £560m will be spent on roads and public transport in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, the prime minister has announced.

Rishi Sunak said the money was from the scrapped northern leg of the HS2 rail project.

Speaking on BBC Radio Humberside's Breakfast Show, the prime minister also reiterated his promise to electrify the rail line from Hull.

Labour has described the funding as a "reannouncement" of plans from October.

In October, the government shelved parts of the HS2 line between the West Midlands and Manchester, and to the East Midlands, following spiralling costs in recent years.

The four councils across East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire will receive, in total, £567m of the allocated £4.7bn.

East Riding of Yorkshire - £168m

Hull - £161m

North East Lincolnshire - £120m

North Lincolnshire - £118m

Ahead of a cabinet meeting at the Siemens train factory in Goole, East Yorkshire on Monday, Mr Sunak told the BBC the money would help to "improve the connectivity from Hull into the rest of the Northern Powerhouse".

"I think it will make a huge difference," he said.

"This was a big decision I took and we're now announcing all the amounts of money.

"It will kick in from next year, so we'll have time to work with areas on the plans that they've got. But it will bring real benefits to people - millions of people across the region."

However, Mr Sunak stopped short of mentioning a date for when the Hull electrification project would begin.

Local authorities will be able to access the investment until 2032 for projects including building new roads and filling in potholes, as well as refurbishing bus and rail stations, improving street safety and installing better street lighting.

Mike Ross, Liberal Democrat leader of Hull City Council, said: "Of course we want to see money coming into councils such as Hull's to spend on local transport priorities. For us, it's a shame it has to be at the expense of what would've been a revolutionary transformational scheme for the north of England."

He also said he had "very little confidence" in the delivery of the transport projects due to the funding timescales.

Lord Patrick McLoughlin, chair of Transport for the North, welcomed the funding and described it as "a sign of progress towards transforming the north to a more inclusive, sustainable and better-connected region". 

Hull North Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson said: "He made this announcement in October last year at the Conservative Party Conference, so it's really the same announcement, but just several months later.

"And I think what's frustrating is that we still do not have any confirmation of start dates. "When I've raised this in Parliament, I've asked three times when will this work start and I haven't been able to get an answer."

A big promise and a lot of money.

Cash strapped councils in Northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire won't say no to any funding coming their way, particularly if it can speed up transport projects in their areas.

Most commuters will welcome any improvements that make travelling around the region better.

The government says this investment will be delivered over seven years starting from 2025, to give local authorities time to develop their funding plans.

But wait, there's a general election on the horizon and if the Conservatives lose power, the question is: will the millions of pounds in promised transport funding actually find its way into the hands of local authorities at all?

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