We have secured another year of vital funding! A settlement of £816,000 from the Department for Transport (DfT) means we can continue to transform regional transport. This funding will allow Western Gateway STB to continue its collaboration with local authorities, transport operators and stakeholders to improve infrastructure, connectivity and access for everyone who works, lives and travels through the Western Gateway region.
Councillor Manda Rigby, Chair of Western Gateway STB said: “We’re delighted to have received funding for another year. We have many exciting transport plans in the pipeline, which includes rolling out pilots in rural areas, working with our partners on things like cross boundary bus services and efficient regional freight movements, making the case for investment in enhanced rail services and supporting local authorities to assess potential sites for new housing – to name just a few.”
This funding, alongside the annual contributions from nine constituent local authorities, will enable us to work with partners to devise a transport system that supports national housing targets and that operates effectively beyond local authority boundaries, as well as supporting statutory decarbonisation targets.
DfT’s Integrated National Transport Strategy is due to be published in Autumn 2025, following recent government plans to accelerate local authority devolution and rapidly increase the delivery of housing. As a result transport planning and provision is in a period of transformation.
Councillor Rigby continues: “There has never been a greater need for the Sub-national Transport Bodies to support transitional and cross-boundary planning, seek efficiencies in implementing new priorities and represent significant local issues to government through this time of change. We are pleased to see this vital role recognised through this funding announcement.”
During the 2024/25 financial year, Western Gateway STB successfully delivered the following key areas of work, as outlined in its business plan:
- Developed and launched the Strategic Transport Plan (STP), which highlights its plans for a future transport provision that can best support communities and businesses, enabling the economy and environment to thrive
- Launched the South West Coach Forum, which brought together local authorities, coach operators, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), National Highways, and other stakeholders to discuss all aspects of coach services in the South West.
- Developed the Rural Mobility Pilot Programme Prospectus, providing funding opportunities for external organizations across the region to develop proposals for a rural mobility pilot project
- Completed the feasibility study of the first of three priority routes identified in the Coach Strategy
- Completed work on modelling future transport scenarios, directly supporting constituent LAs
- Produced Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) for Heart of Wessex Line and the Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategic Action Plan
- Released the Carbon Assessment Playbook to Local Authorities, with over 150 subscribers of the tool.
- Working to deliver a Centre of Excellence, providing additional resources and support to constituent local authorities.
- Worked collaboratively with other Sub-national Transport Bodies nationwide to advance governmental transport priorities while enhancing infrastructure development across the country.
The Business Plan for the 2025/26 financial year was approved at the Partnership Board on Tuesday 25 March, outlining our plans for delivering core work areas using the allocated grants from DfT. You can listen to the recording on YouTube.
