Chancellor Announces Funding for Lincoln Eastern Bypass

The Chancellor George Osbourne MP has announced, as part of his autumn statement, that the Lincoln Eastern Bypass is one of thirty-five infrastructure projects around the country set to receive funding.

A 'best and final' bid for £50m, towards the expected £98m cost of the Bypass, was submitted by Lincolnshire County Council to the Department for Transport in September.

Executive Member for Highways and Transportation, Cllr. William Webb, said:

"We are absolutely delighted to hear this news from the Chancellor. Our hopes and aspirations have finally been confirmed and so much hard work has been carried out with our partner authorities to try and bring the bypass to fruition. We have been working towards this for almost 20 years and it’s wonderful that we can start taking the final steps needed to make the bypass a reality.

"The announcement means that we have the additional £50m that is needed and that we have 'conditional approval' for the bypass. We look forward to seeing the full details, so we can start carrying out the additional work required to fulfil these conditions and understand the government’s funding timescale. It is possible that construction could start as soon as 2014."

The Lincoln Eastern Bypass was identified as the best solution to improve traffic flow in the city and it will have tremendous positive economic benefits for the county and East Midlands as a whole.

A bid for funding successfully made it through an initial ‘expression of interest’ stage in February. Lincolnshire County Council is making a contribution of £14m and, following an Executive meeting on Monday, 15th August, is acting as 'guarantor' to underwrite the £34m third party funded element. This meant that if the bid was successful, construction could start far sooner, without the authority needing to wait for details of the developer contributions. Cllr.Webb added: 

"The county council had already agreed this summer to guarantee the outstanding balance in the short term, so we could move forward more quickly. Today’s announcement by government confirms we are now in an excellent position to do this.

"We are of course still working towards solutions to improve the highways in other parts of Lincolnshire as well."

New Bio-Fuel Buses Launched in Lincoln

The Lincolnshire Echo has reported on a trailblazing project that uses food waste from landfill to fuel buses has been officially launched.

A fleet of 11 Stagecoach buses, which are the first of their kind in the UK, was unveiled at Lincolnshire Showground yesterday. The programme managers say reduced emissions from the biomethane gas-powered vehicles will reduce damage to the environment.

The project was joint funded by Lincolnshire County Council, which provided £260,000 of investment, and the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), which injected a further £100,000.

The launch ceremony was conducted by Stagecoach Group chief executive Mr. Brian Souter who said:

"Waste is a big issue for every family and household up and down the country and councils now face major taxes for landfill.

"This is an innovative way of taking something that's a big problem for society and turning it into a fuel of the future."

A special refuelling facility has been installed at Stagecoach's Great Northern Terrace depot, near Lincoln. Investment from EMDA has helped fund this new fuel infrastructure.

Ms Diana Gilhespy, executive director of regeneration at EMDA, said:

"We are delighted that these bio-methane buses are being trialed. We feel it is vitally important to explore innovative ideas for reducing carbon emissions in the East Midlands transport industry."

The project will run for six to 12 months on a number of routes in Lincoln. Lincolnshire County Council and Stagecoach will then review its success and decide if it will be rolled out across more routes in the county.

Cllr. William Webb, Conservative (Holbeach Rural Division) and Executive Member for Highways and Transport, said:

"I am delighted to be associated with Stagecoach on the launch of this project.

"It will have much benefit to the county and the people of Lincolnshire and will benefit people in the whole country."