Coventry very light rail moves forward as city secures funding

Coventry City Council has secured nearly £116 million in grant funding to help decarbonise and improve the city’s transport system.

Working closely with West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the majority of the funding was secured following a successful bid to the Department for Transport’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS). Additional funding was also secured from the combined authority's Active Travel Fund and Sustrans’ Paths for Everyone funding.

Provided it is approved at a full council meeting on 6 September the money will be used to support a number of innovative sustainable transport schemes across the city, focused around making it easier to walk, cycle or use public transport.

A sizeable chunk of the funding will support the development of the proposed Coventry Very Light Rail (VLR) project. Other planned interventions include targeted improvements to the road networks, installation of new cycling and walking routes and improved connectivity across the transport system.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change said, “We know that in order to play our part in tackling the causes of climate change we need to make fundamental changes to our city’s transport network.

“We have to encourage people to choose alternatives to the private car for some journeys and to do that we have to make sure that walking, cycling and public transport are attractive and viable alternatives in our city.

“That’s why I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to secure such a significant amount of funding to help us do this. This funding will help us to lead a number of projects that will play a major role  in the green transformation of our city’s transport network.

“Along with the all-electric bus fleet, fully segregated cycle routes and more on street charge points than anywhere else outside London, our ambition is to enable local people to be able to make real choices about how they travel sustainably.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said, “I’m so pleased to see that Very Light Rail in Coventry is set to benefit from this funding boost – thanks in large part to central government’s City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement cash. The Commonwealth Games this summer showed us that we can wean ourselves off car reliance if we deliver quality, affordability and reliability in our public transport offer. Working together across the WMCA, universities and local authorities, we can help tackle the climate emergency and smooth our path towards a more sustainable future for transport – changing the lives of local residents for the better.”

In addition to the funding secured from the CRSTS, WMCA’s Active Travel Fund and Sustrans Paths for Everyone, the schemes will also be supplemented by up to £26.8 million match funding which is a mix of private and public sector investment.