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<p><strong> </strong></p><p>Tackling congestion and improving public transport are
key priorities for this Government and as such the Government has taken several steps
which will benefit Stafford, including:</p><p> </p><p>· Providing £4.2m from the Local
Sustainable Transport Fund, between 2011 and 2015, to address peak hour congestion
in Stafford, encouraging commuters to make more sustainable travel habits and reduce
car use. Staffordshire County Council will also receive £985k in revenue grant in
2015/16 for a project that includes further bus interchange and rail network enhancements,
and service information improvements.</p><p> </p><p>· Providing £1.7m from the Local
Pinch Point Fund for the Beacon Business Park scheme, Stafford, which aimed to ease
congestion at the A518 Weston Road/ Blackheath Lane junction.</p><p> </p><p>· Staffordshire
County Council, as the relevant Transport and Highway Authority, has also received
£76.906m for Highways Maintenance funding over the period 2011/12 -2014/15. This included
funding through the Pothole Fund and weather recovery and £19.769m of Integrated Transport
Block Funding.</p><p> </p><p>· Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership
has also secured £82.3m from the Government’s Local Growth fund to support economic
growth in the area – with £13.6m of funding confirmed for 2015-16. This includes £24.3m
towards the Stafford Western Access Route which aims to reduce traffic congestion
into and around Stafford town centre.</p><p> </p><p>· Announcing a direct award contract
with West Coast Trains Limited (Virgin) in June 2014 that will run for 2 years 9 months
up to April 2017. The new contract will bring £35 million worth of passenger benefits,
including increased car parking at Stafford.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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