Nottingham to receive over £18m in funding for green improvements

Nottingham is set to benefit from more than £18m of external funding for cycling and bus improvements – including the full electrification of NCT’s single decker fleet – thanks to a successful bid by the City Council.

The funding will help Nottingham to achieve its target of becoming the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028.

A segregated cycle corridor along St Ann’s Well Road, along with cycling and walking improvements along Lincoln Street in Basford and at Beechdale Road’s junction with the Ring Road, will be funded from Department for Transport (DfT) and Sustrans grants totalling £3.3m.

The City Council and Nottingham City Transport (NCT) have also accepted £15.2m of Dft funding from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas fund (ZEBRA). This will be used to provide 78 new electric buses, which would result in the full electrification of NCT’s single decker fleet and support the company’s ambition to become the UK’s first carbon neutral bus operator.

The funding will be used to fully electrify NCT’s Trent Bridge depot. 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.

The City Council and County Council are also preparing a Bus Service Improvement Plan which outlines an ambitious infrastructure and network investment plan for Greater Nottingham over the next three years, backed by an indicative allocation of £11.4m from the DfT.

Councillor Audra Wynter, Nottingham City Council’s portfolio holder for transport, said: “Nottingham is leading the way with green travel alternatives to the car, which is playing a big part in our carbon neutral ambitions.

“I’m delighted that we have secured more than £18m for improvements which will benefit cyclists and pedestrians on three key routes in the city, and allow NCT to enhance their already excellent green credentials with 78 new electric buses adding to the 29 electric buses and 120 bio gas buses already in our city.

“Delivering high quality sustainable green transport will enable Nottingham to become a resilient city that is able to cope and do its bit to help tackle climate change. By improving the liveability of local neighbourhoods and creating healthier streets, that are co-designed with our communities, all residents will benefit from a smarter, cleaner, better connected and forward-looking transport system. All designed to make Nottingham a better place to live, work, play and invest.”