Declaring a climate change emergency
Local authorities can play a key role in tackling climate change – and there is plenty for them to do. Never before has thinking globally and acting locally been more important, says Mark Whitehead.
Whitehall warned not to ‘scrap’ HS2 as review announced
21/08/2019 The Government has announced an independent review into ‘whether and how’ the HS2 programme should proceed. |
TfN submits £700m proposals for National Roads Fund
21/08/2019 Transport for the North has submitted £700m bids to the National Roads Fund, including 12 schemes for the major road network and four for large local majors. |
Council services ‘declining’ due to £5bn funding gap, MPs say
21/08/2019 MPs have accused the Government of being ‘derelict in its duty’ by failing to set out a funding settlement that would ease the pressure on frontline services. |
London set for three times more transport investment than North
19/08/2019 London is in line for almost three times more transport investment per person than the North of England, according to IPPR North. |
Council chiefs call for billions to fix North’s ‘creaking infrastructure’
15/08/2019 Leaders from across the North have today called on the Government to commit to multi-billion pound infrastructure pledges that would boost the region’s economic fortunes. |
Council proposes £120m scheme to upgrade Liverpool’s ‘flawed’ junction
15/08/2019 Liverpool City Council has submitted proposals to the Government outlining its plans to radically redesign one of the city’s major junctions as part of a wider bid to boost transport in the North. |
Two Black Country stations to reopen thanks to £10m grant
06/08/2019 Two stations are to be reopened in the Black Country thanks to a £10m Government grant after being closed for nearly half a century. |
Combined authority to pilot 'Uber-style' bus service
26/07/2019 Plans to pilot a ‘demand-responsive’ bus service across Tees Valley have been approved. |
London Assembly reminds PM of past promises
25/07/2019 The London Assembly has written to the new PM urging him to continue opposing Heathrow expansion and calling on him to support moves to tackle domestic abuse. |
MPs call for dedicated funding for active travel
23/07/2019 MPs have criticised the Government for inadequate and ‘piecemeal’ active travel investment and called for a dedicated funding stream for local walking and cycling. |
Grayling warned £350m local roads fund is ‘not enough’
22/07/2019 Council chiefs have told the Government a recently announced £350m funding boost to help improve local roads is not an alternative to long-term investment. |
Whitehall announces nearly £40m electric chargepoint investment
09/07/2019 The Government has announced it is investing £37m to transform electric chargepoint infrastructure. |
Funding cuts could have paid for eight million pothole repairs, council chiefs say
08/07/2019 Council leaders have called for more cash after calculating money cut from road funding budgets over the last decade could have fixed millions of potholes. |
Cardiff to invest £1bn in new transport system
05/07/2019 Cardiff Council has announced a £1bn plan to overhaul the Welsh capital’s transport system to prevent it from ‘grinding to a halt’. |
Northern Powerhouse: The first five years
01/07/2019 The Northern Powerhouse has celebrated its fifth birthday. But what is it, and what has it achieved? Mark Whitehead investigates. |
Burnham jumps aboard franchising bus
24/06/2019 Andy Burnham has become the first mayor in the country to recommend bus franchising, as part of a plan to create a ‘modern public transport system’. |
Millions 'wasted' on painted cycle lanes, ambassadors warn
17/06/2019 Cycling and walking ambassadors have called on the Government to provide councils with greater powers and more money to make key changes in cities. |
Bus users outline plan to reverse rural decline
13/06/2019 A group representing bus users across the UK has published a 10-point plan to reverse the decline in rural services. |
Malthouse announces £142m infrastructure investment
11/06/2019 Thousands of new homes will be built in two areas as a result of £142m investment in infrastructure, housing minister Kit Malthouse has announced. |
Noisy drivers face fines under new plans
10/06/2019 Drivers with noisy vehicles are facing a crackdown with new technology to detect illegal sound levels. |
Calls to make cycling more inclusive for women, older and disabled people
06/06/2019 Women, older and disabled people are neglected in provision of resources to support cycling, according to a report. |
Scotland's 20mph roll-out suffers blow
03/06/2019 A national roll-out of 20mph speed limits in Scotland has suffered a blow after a key committee refused to recommend the bill. |
Mayors want Northern franchise scrapped
30/05/2019 Two North West metro mayors have called on transport secretary Chris Grayling to terminate the Northern rail franchise ‘as soon as possible’. |
Gov to fall short on national cycling target
28/05/2019 The Government is set to fall way short of its target of doubling the number of cycling journeys by 2025. |
City of London plans UK’s first 15mph speed limit
28/05/2019 The Square Mile in London is set to become the UK’s first area with a 15mph speed limit. |
We need a national bus strategy, MPs say
22/05/2019 Bus services are in 'steady decline' due to uncoordinated, fragmented Government policy and local funding, according to influential MPs. |
Councils urged to take control of bus services
17/05/2019 Councils have been reminded they can take control of bus services under new powers introduced by the Government. |
North ‘being short-changed by HS2’
16/05/2019 A House of Lords committee has called on ministers to rethink HS2 after finding evidence that the costs of the high speed rail link ‘appear to be out of control’. |
Grayling calls on councils to apply for green transport funding
16/05/2019 Chris Grayling has urged more local authorities to apply for funding earmarked for investment into ecologically sustainable transport projects. |
London council budgets slashed 17% over last decade
13/05/2019 London’s local authority budgets have dropped by nearly a fifth – or 17% – per head over the last eight years, a new study has revealed. |
Scrap older cars and replace them with ‘mobility credits’, Welsh ministers told
09/05/2019 Welsh ministers will today hear how pollution could be tackled by scrapping older cars and replacing them with credits to use on buses, trains and daily car and bike hire. |
UK needs £1bn a year to combat flood threat
09/05/2019 A long-term strategy to ensure infrastructure is resilient to flooding and coastal change by 2050 has been unveiled today by the Environment Agency. |
No such thing as a ‘rural transport problem’, report concludes
03/05/2019 It is ‘very easy’ to provide high quality public transport to rural communities, a study comparing approaches to transport in four countries has concluded. |
Heathrow runway clears High Court hurdle
01/05/2019 The High Court has dismissed arguments against Heathrow expansion and found that the Government is free to ignore the Paris Agreement on climate action until it forms part of UK law. |
Peers call for strategies to develop ‘under-performing’ rural areas
29/04/2019 Local authorities should develop their own strategies for realising the ‘potential in struggling and under-performing’ rural areas, committee says. |
MPs call for more commitment to transport in the North
29/04/2019 A group of over 80 Parliamentarians have written to the Chancellor arguing that the Government does not have to choose between HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail because ‘we need both’. |
London’s transport commissioner criticised over Crossrail debacle
23/04/2019 The chair of the committee overseeing the Crossrail project has accused London's transport commissioner of 'watering down' information sent to Sadiq Khan. |
Khan hails 'landmark day' as London ULEZ begins
08/04/2019 London’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) – described by mayor Sadiq Khan as the world’s toughest vehicle emissions standard – began on Monday. |
Has the Government ‘gone cold’ on the Northern Powerhouse?
02/04/2019 Neil Merrick talks to the Northern Powerhouse minister Jake Berry about the progress of developments in the North. |
Grayling launches £200m pothole fund
01/04/2019 Councils in England will be given a share of more than £200m for road maintenance and pothole repairs, transport secretary Chris Grayling has announced. |
Councils chosen to share £25m clean bus funding
22/03/2019 A £25m fund to upgrade buses with technologies that reduce harmful emissions will be shared by 14 local authorities. |
Norman sets out plans for urban mobility
19/03/2019 Ministers have announced a ‘review’ that will pave the way for transforming the way people and goods move around our cities, alongside £90m to ‘test ideas’ to improve journeys. |
Edinburgh tram extension gets green light
15/03/2019 Councillors in Edinburgh have voted to back the £207m extension of the city’s controversial tram network to Leith and Newhaven. |
Stobart announced as Tee Valley airport operator
14/03/2019 Tees Valley Combined Authority has announced that Stobart Group will be the operator of the local airport now that it has been brought under public control. |
Birmingham faces 'major public health crisis’, council warns
14/03/2019 Birmingham City Council has been given the go-ahead to introduce a clean air zone to tackle what it has called a 'major public health crisis'. |
Legal challenges to Heathrow Expansion begin
11/03/2019 Five legal challenges to the Government’s plans for a new runway at Heathrow will reach the High Court this week. |
Sutton chosen to trial 'on-demand' bus service
20/02/2019 An ‘on-demand’ bus service is set to be trialled in Sutton to help reduce the borough’s high dependency on cars. |
Newcastle council to discuss £5m station ‘revamp’
18/02/2019 Councillors in Newcastle are considering a multi-million pound package of measures that will revamp the city’s central station. |
Think tank calls for devolution of transport funding
18/02/2019 The devolution of transport funding will enable councils to invest on a strategic basis and help match up transport with new developments, a new report says. |
Council rolls scooters out in bid to tackle pollution
13/02/2019 Children in Leeds will soon be travelling to school on scooters instead of in cars as part of the council’s push to clean up the city’s air. |
Whitehall launches consultation on taxi licensing
12/02/2019 Local authorities could soon be required to ensure that every prospective taxi driver undergoes enhanced criminal record and background checks. |
Northern leaders approve £70bn transport plan
11/02/2019 Northern leaders have approved a £70bn transport plan for their region and will now take steps to submit a business case to Government for rail investment. |
Underfunding of bus scheme leaves elderly ‘isolated’
11/02/2019 Elderly and vulnerable people could be left isolated because the concessionary bus fares scheme is underfunded, local government leaders have warned. |
Popular council services could be swallowed by £8bn funding black hole
01/02/2019 Many popular council services could disappear by 2025 due to a £8bn funding black hole, council leaders have warned today. |
£70bn plan to boost the North’s infrastructure published
31/01/2019 Transport for the North has set out a multi-billion pound blueprint for transforming the North’s economy and creating an estimated 850,000 jobs. |
Infrastructure projects 'undermined' by lack of public engagement
28/01/2019 Future transport projects in London could be undermined if politicians fail to engage with the public, a major infrastructure firm has warned. |
Councils take ‘risk-based’ approach to filling in potholes
18/01/2019 Councils are increasingly adopting a ‘risk-based’ approach to filling in potholes, an analysis of council response times to calls about road defects has found. |
York invests nearly £2m to improve air quality
10/01/2019 City of York Council plans to invest £1.6m in order to reduce the exhaust emissions from local bus services. |
Burnham launches plan to make Greater Manchester an ‘ambitious hub’
07/01/2019 Greater Manchester’s leaders are today announcing ‘radical plans’ to deliver more affordable housing and better transport across the region. |
Grayling awards £13.8m deal to ferry firm with no boats
03/01/2019 Chris Grayling has defended a £13.8m ferry contract being given to a company with no boats on the grounds that the Government is supporting British business. |
Parish councils protest against airport expansion
20/12/2018 A group of parish councils have protested at plans to expand Bristol Airport on the grounds that it will increase traffic and damage the environment. |
VolkerHighways to bring Bath up to date with £70m deal
18/12/2018 VolkerHighways has signed a new highway maintenance and improvements contract with Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council worth up to £70m over 10 years. |
London cycle routes face rebrand
18/12/2018 London mayor Sadiq Khan has unveiled a new Cycling Action Plan that aims to create a London-wide cycle network while doubling cycling journeys in six years. |
Reading ‘disappointed’ after Wokingham rejects £20m scheme
14/12/2018 Wokingham councillors have rejected plans for a £20m riverside travel route connecting two boroughs due to its ‘sensitive location’. |
Cambridge unveils 'world class’ transport scheme
14/12/2018 Cambridge is set to build a 'world class' public transport system and thousands of new homes as part of a new plan for the city. |
£160m Luton Airport terminal officially opens
14/12/2018 Secretary of state for transport Chris Grayling has officially opened London Luton Airport’s newly-upgraded terminal after a three-year transformation project. |
Northern Powerhouse needs ‘clear break’ with original vision, report says
05/12/2018 The Government should commit to a ‘whole North’ approach to development rather than just focusing on the Manchester region, think tank says. |
Govt report says 20mph zones may not reduce casualty rates
28/11/2018 An evaluation of 20mph limit schemes has failed to find evidence of a significant short-term impact on safety but said they could provide other benefits. |
Transport spending in London double that of the Northern Powerhouse
21/11/2018 Transport spending has risen twice as much per person in London than in the North since launch of Northern Powerhouse five years ago, according to the latest research. |
Councils spending £75m more on transporting SEND pupils to school
20/11/2018 County councils spent £323.3m on transporting young people to school last year, figures have revealed. |
Khan launches five ‘clean air’ zones
16/11/2018 Sadiq Khan yesterday launched five new ‘clean air’ zones in a bid to clean up some of London’s worst polluted hotspots. |
Councils net £42m a year in bus lane fines
14/11/2018 Town hall chiefs have hit back at a report saying councils collected nearly £42m in penalties last year from motorists caught driving in bus lanes. |
Council spends £12,000 on four speed signs
13/11/2018 Bournemouth council has spent thousands of pounds installing speed signs along the promenade in an attempt to slow cyclists down. |
West Midlands to invest £43m in ‘congestion busting projects’
07/11/2018 Local leaders in the West Midlands will this Friday consider plans to invest £43m in projects designed to tackle the region’s congestion problems. |
What does the Budget really mean for local authorities?
06/11/2018 Tiffany Cloynes and Joanna Phillips explore the key announcements in the Budget and how far extra funding will address the challenges faced by councils. |
Budget 2018: £25bn for RIS2 but PFI ban could cost Highways England
30/10/2018 The chancellor has announced an immediate £420m cash boost for local authority highway maintenance budgets with millions more for local transport projects. |
Greater Manchester’s transport system ‘outdated’, Burnham says
26/10/2018 Mayor Andy Burnham has called on the Government to give Greater Manchester more powers to look after the day-to-day running of the region’s transport. |
‘Deep flaws’ in planning system driving car-dependency
24/10/2018 The planning system is leaving new housing developments without adequate walking, cycling and public transport connections, transport organisation warns. |
Survey reveals ‘concerns’ over road sign legislation
22/10/2018 The majority of those working in the road signs industry have concerns with the new legislation governing the designs and conditions of use for traffic signs. |
London bus safety regulations ‘do not go far enough’
17/10/2018 New regulations governing bus safety in London ‘do not go far enough’, according to the London Assembly’s transport committee. |
Heathrow legal challenges to go to full hearing
05/10/2018 Courts of Justice today ruled that all six legal challenges brought against the decision in June to back a third runway at Heathrow can go to a full hearing. |
West Midlands awarded £20m to make journeys ‘cheaper and quicker’
03/10/2018 The West Midlands will pioneer new transport schemes to make journeys ‘quicker, cheaper and cleaner’ following a £20m funding announcement. |
National strategy needed to stop the decline in bus use, operators say
01/10/2018 One of the country’s largest bus and rail operators has called for the creation of a national strategy to address the sharp fall in the use of buses. |
May announces £840m public transport investment
28/09/2018 Prime minister Theresa May has announced £840m investment in public transport links as part of the £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund. |
Driverless vehicles could free up 80% of car parking land
26/09/2018 Driverless vehicles could lower need for private vehicle-use and free up thousands of hectares of land for development, according to consultants. |
Cities commit to procuring only zero-emission buses after 2025
14/09/2018 Birmingham, Greater Manchester and Oxford have all committed to procure only zero-emission buses from 2025 in a bid to reduce air pollution and make their cities ‘healthier.’ |
Oxford strikes £2.6m deal to maintain its own roads
07/09/2018 The two councils covering Oxford have struck a deal that will see the city council provide routine highway maintenance services on behalf of the county. |
Corbyn pledges £10bn for 'Crossrail for the North'
04/09/2018 Jeremy Corbyn has pledged £10bn to build a cross-country high-speed rail link if elected. |
Whitehall not doing ‘nearly enough’ to tackle pothole epidemic
24/08/2018 The Government is not doing ‘nearly enough’ to improve the state of the roads in the UK, road users say. |
Councils warn a lack of funding holding back sustainable travel
24/08/2018 A lack of funding is stopping councils from investing in sustainable travel, council leaders have warned today. |
Report warns of a 'two-speed' England
21/08/2018 Business leaders have warned of a ‘two-speed’ England unless the Government adopts a coherent approach to improving infrastructure. |
Council pitches £375m light rail link to Heathrow
16/08/2018 A council near Heathrow has submitted proposals to ministers for a £375m light rail link to the expanding airport. |
Vehicles begin data gathering ahead of 2019 passenger AV trial
15/08/2018 A UK company developing technology for driverless vehicles has started data gathering in two London boroughs as part of its plan to trial a shared driverless passenger service in London next year. |
Cambridge £1.7bn metro plans 'could provide lifeline for buses'
09/08/2018 A possible £1.7bn underground ‘metro’ for Cambridge will be designed to support the area’s failing bus services and discourage car use, the region’s mayor has said. |
Council proposes 10-point plan to tackle air pollution
08/08/2018 Oxford City Council has called on the Government to adopt a 10-point plan to tackle high air pollution levels which contribute to 40,000 deaths every year. |
Councils urged to provide free education transport for young people with disabilities
06/08/2018 Councils across England should ensure their education transport policies properly support young adults with disabilities, ombudsman warns. |
MPs call for £100bn Northern transport investment
02/08/2018 The Government has been urged to invest £100bn on Northern infrastructure by 2050 to deliver major strategic road and rail projects. |
What does High Speed Rail really mean to you?
30/07/2018 Craig Wakeman, programme manager for the West Midlands Combined Authority’s HS2 Growth Delivery team, explains the real impacts HS2 will have. |
Councils seek judicial review of Heathrow runway decision
20/07/2018 London councils have notified the secretary of state for transport they will be seeking a judicial review of the decision to support third Heathrow runway. |
Pothole-related breakdowns hit ‘three-year high’
16/07/2018 Local authority leaders have called for more funding for local road maintenance as second quarter pothole-related breakdowns hit a three-year high. |
The June issue of Local Government News contains the full details of all the winning schemes in the 2019 Street Design Awards. From Children's Play to Pedestrian Environment, find out who has been recognised for their innovation and use of best practice.
This issue also explores how local government pension funds can hedge currency risk, how councils can best address the shortfall in school places, and an update on the number of authorities banning the use of Roundup over safety fears.
