Nottingham City Council has successfully bid for more than £18m of external funding for cycling and bus improvements to aid its carbon neutral ambitions.
A segregated cycle corridor with improvements for pedestrians, along with two cycling and walking improvement projects, will be funded from UK Department for Transport (DfT) and Sustrans grants totalling £3.3m.
The three schemes are all on corridors regarded as a strategic priority to the cycle network. They will complement other high-profile investments into Nottingham’s cycling network taking place through previous Active Travel Fund bids and the Transforming Cities Fund in the city centre, on other main road corridors into the city centre, as well as the proposed new walking and cycling bridge over the River Trent.
The improvements are part of wider efforts by the city council to encourage cycling and walking, for which it has secured funding from the government for the third successive year.
The schemes are being delivered entirely from external funding, with no need for the council to use any of its own funds. With funding in place, work could start towards the end of the year.
The city council and Nottingham City Transport (NCT) have also accepted £15.2m of Dft funding from its Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas fund to provide 78 new electric buses, which would result in the full electrification of NCT’s single-decker fleet.
Funding will be used to fully electrify NCT’s Trent Bridge depot where the single deck fleet is based. The new buses will replace all of NCT’s existing single-decker fleet and serve on 18 bus routes across the city and into the county.
This will reportedly reduce carbon emissions by 3,800 tonnes CO2e a year and improve air quality outside and on board the buses. It should also enhance the passenger experience, with better ride quality and a reduction in noise and vibration.
The funding announcement comes as Nottingham City Council in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council is preparing a Bus Service Improvement Plan outlining an infrastructure and network investment plan for Greater Nottingham over the next three years, backed by an indicative allocation of £11.4m from the DfT.
The council will also build on partnerships with local bus operators through an Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme for the next five years that sets out standards of service, vehicle emissions and ticketing acceptance requirements, as well as detailing ways the council and operators can work together to improve the passenger experience against a range of key targets.