North East Lincolnshire Council has been allocated £120m of ‘redirected’ funds from the scrapped Northern leg of the HS2 project.
Parts of the HS2 line between the West Midlands to Manchester, and to the East Midlands were scrapped after controversy arose due to increasing costs.
The government subsequently announced it would be distributing funds in the region of £4.7bn, which was initially intended for the HS2 project, to councils outside big cities in the Midlands and northern England.
Now, it has been revealed that North East Lincolnshire is set to benefit from a £120m boost, which will be available to spend until 2032. Neighbouring North Lincolnshire Council has been allocated £118m.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Sunak said 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.”
Local authorities will be responsible for the allocation of funding to specific projects in line with government guidance between 2025 and 2032.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also promised that £36bn will be spent on improving transport links in northern areas of England. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the plan would be “game-changing” for smaller cities and towns, adding that it would enable them to “drive economic growth”.
