Officials to meet with ministers to fight for more funding for public transport in Lincolnshire
Top officials will meet with the government to fight for more funding for public transport in Lincolnshire and ‘raise the profile’ of rural areas.
Members of the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) will be establishing and chairing a rural transport group.
They will meet with ministers at Westminster next year to push for more rural investment in public transport in the county.
Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Dame Andrea Jenkyns (Reform UK) told a transport board meeting on Wednesday (November 12) that it was important to have a meeting in Westminster so that they could press decision-makers – and ensure those with the power and money understood the challenges of providing transport in rural areas.
Coun Craig Leyland (Conservative), leader of East Lindsey District Council, said he would like to see the district authorities being represented at this event.
Ms Jenkyns said that all members of the GLCCA “will be invited” to the event, including representatives from the district councils.
She added: “You’re equally as important to Lincolnshire as myself and everybody else in the combined authority. You will get an invite and I think it’s important that you’re there as well.
“We all sing from the same hymn sheet and I think, for consecutive governments, far too much has been through the urban lens and this is an opportunity cross-party to make sure our voices are heard for the rural community.”
Lana Meddings, strategic transport lead at the GLCCA, said: “Membership of the group will be made up of mayors of authorities with a rural interest as well as leaders of county authorities who are going through the devolution process and will likely be engaging their mayors in the future, as well as stakeholders from national transport organisations and government departments.
“In advance of the Westminster launch, an initial rural transport evidence base is being produced which will set out evidence of the contributions rural areas make to the UK economy and building that case for rural investment.
“It will be looking at the evidence of funding per capita for local authorities in rural areas and really looking at how the rural transport group can raise the profile of rural areas and their contribution to UKPLC (UK Public Limited Company).”