Leaders approve use of £69.5m government transport funding – and say they’re using it better than Whitehall

Greater Manchester leaders have agreed to spend more than £69m on developing a ‘world class’ public transport system in the city-region.

The combined authority will progress plans for a long-awaited £15m railway station in Golborne, extra Metrolink stops, and improved bus services on northern and eastern routes.

A further £7m will be allocated towards replacing the Greek Street bridge in Stockport, while £3.3m will improve disabled access at rail stations such as Swinton in Salford.

Tydlesley would get a new £2m park and ride to alleviate parking demand in the town, and £10m will go towards installing new electric vehicle charging points across all 10 boroughs.

The schemes are the latest to be supported through the government’s £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund, of which Greater Manchester has been awarded around £312m since 2018.

Most of the money – £234m – has been used to develop the regional Bee Network and to buy 27 new Metrolink trams.

Mayor Andy Burnham has insisted that the city-region is using the devolved funding to help areas that had been ‘traditionally neglected’ by the government.

He told a combined authority meeting today (Friday): “I think we can say with some confidence that we’re using this funding better than perhaps if it had been decided in an office in Whitehall.

“We’ve decided that our communities need to have better access to walking and cycling, and we know where the rail stations are that need support.

“We are deciding to improve Swinton when nationally that wasn’t seen as a priority. 

“I think this makes the case for devolved funding and I’m pleased the government has committed to devolved intra-city transport funding going forward.”

After years of local campaigning Golborne will be reconnected to the rail network for the first time in 60 years once the new station is built outside the town.

Local councillors, as well as former Leigh MP Jo Platt and her Conservative successor James Grundy, have long called for improved transport links in the south of Wigan borough.

However, Mr Burnham raised concerns about timetable changes to the Cumbria-Manchester Airport route which would be ‘crucial’ to the new station that it would pass through.

By approving the raft of transport projects on Friday, the mayor said Greater Manchester would build stronger and better connected communities after the Covid-19 pandemic.

But while leaders agreed with the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda, Mr Burnham said the approach to reducing regional disparities in wealth and income must not be managed on a ‘top down’ basis.

“We’ll decide when we’ve been levelled up but based on the ability to direct funding to where it’s most needed,” he added.

“Lots of places traditionally neglected for support from the central government have today benefited in this combined authority meeting.

“Golborne, Tyldesley, Swinton, parts of Bury, and I think that’s a really powerful story of how devolution is helping us reach the parts that the central government has traditionally failed to reach.”

Greater Manchester was awarded £234m from the Transporting Cities Fund in 2018 and has used the money to develop its Bee Network plans to buy 27 new Metrolink trams.

The combined authority meeting on Friday also saw leaders agree to republish a revised version of its long-term strategy for all journeys in the city-region to be by public transport, cycling and walking by 2040.

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