Road projects took precedent over public transport options, as transport secretary, Philip Hammond, revealed which local schemes had been given the go ahead to receive government cash.

Five of the nine local transport schemes to receive cash from the Department for Transport (DfT) are highways projects, while public transport will only receive one-third of the funding.

The development pool, comprising of 45 schemes competing for a portion of the £560m pot – which is down £40m from the figure published in October 2010 – paints a similar picture, and includes 23 highways schemes, 13 public transport schemes and nine integrated transport projects.

The majority of public transport cash will go on the Birmingham Midland Metro extension scheme, with the project receiving £75.4m.

Centro chief executive, Geoff Inskip, said the organisation had ‘been working closely with the DfT, in determining the final costs of the scheme’.

It means the Midland Metro will be extended through the city’s main shopping district, terminating outside a refurbished New Street station.

He said: ‘This approval keeps us on track to have the Metro extension open to coincide with the completion of the New Street Station Gateway refurbishment.’

The Ipswich ‘Fit for the 21st-century project’ also received £18.3m, and will see improvements to the county town’s bus network. The other two projects see infrastructure improvements at Leeds station and a bus station in Mansfield.

But, concerns over the financial viability and value for money of some public transport schemes, such as the Leeds trolleybus project, has resulted in them being put to the back of the queue for cash.

Mr Hammond declared last year the Government was to end Whitehall’s ‘war on the motorist’ – a comment subsequently reiterated by communities secretary, Eric Pickles.

Mr Hammond said: ‘Following the Spending Review, we challenged local authorities to look again at the cost of proposed schemes to ensure we get maximum value for every pound we spend.’

One of the biggest schemes given funding was the Heysham to M6 link road, with the DfT providing £110.9m of the £123m revised scheme. The council will provide the remainder of the cash.

The original bid was for almost £140m, but Lancashire CC reduced expenditure by cutting lighting, redesigning slip roads, and avoiding expensive, large-scale excavations on the project.

Tim Ashton, Lancashire’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: ‘The idea for a major road link from the port of Heysham dates back half a century.’