Town Hall chiefs bid for £6m transport cash

Town hall chiefs have been working with officials at County Hall on the multi-million pound package of bids needed to maintain Lancashire's road network.

The final package has been approved by the highways and transportation committee and will be sent to Whitehall.

Blackburn with Darwen is hoping for £5.731 million, Blackpool £3.84 million and the rest of the county £25.9 million.

Highways is the first major budget to be divided up between the three new authorities in the run-up to local government reorganisation.

The money will be used for road maintenance, bridge repairs and road safety schemes.

Lancashire has already spent the highest amount on road safety in the country during 1997, with £1.8 million of government funding. The aim is to build on the success and the councils have put in an increased bid for £3.3 million.

There are also moves towards encouraging commuters away from their cars and on to public transport.

A variety of measures planned for Lancashire include bus priority, park-and-ride schemes and cycleways.

The aim is to improve the environment over the next five years and packages have been put together for Blackburn, Hyndburn, Burnley and Pendle.

Highways and transportation chairman Richard Toon, said: "The proposals are an increasingly important part of local transport.

"We need to improve the standards of our public transport and provide places where people can walk and cycle safely if we are to reduce our dependency on the private car."

He added: "I am delighted to be working in partnership with this joint submission with Blackpool and Blackburn, the new unitary authorities.

"It will be important in future years to maintain close working relationships between all the local authorities if we are to create efficient, improved transport networks in the North West."

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