The end of October saw the first budget of the new Labour government and alongside the headline news of tax rises and other ways to raise money for planned projects, there was some mention of trams with the hope that funding may be in place for previously announced projects.
There are four main projects which may benefit from announcements made during the budget by Chancellor, Rachel Reeves:
- Upgrade and renewal of South Yorkshire Supertram
- Completion of West Midlands Metro extension between Dudley and Brierley Hill
- West Yorkshire Mass Transit scheme
- Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead
The cash for all these schemes are likely to be come from the announcement regarding over £650 million funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025/6 and a £485 million settlement for Transport for London’s capital renewals programme.
The South Yorkshire Supertram and West Yorkshire Mass Transit scheme are called out in the budget report: “The government is also increasing the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, which are funding projects such as Liverpool’s Baltic Railway Station, the renewal of Sheffield’s Supertram system and the continued development of West Yorkshire Mass Transit.”
Whilst the West Midlands Metro and DLR extensions are not specifically mentioned in the report, as they are priorities for their regions and they both will receive additional funding it is expected they will be progressed.
In a press release following the budget announcement, the West Midlands Combined Authority did specifically mention the Metro extension. However, it is only described as the Black Country Metro tram extension so its unclear if this will allow the route to go as far as Merry Hill or all the way to Brierley Hill.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “My goals are simple – real jobs, affordable homes, economic growth and better public transport for the people of the West Midlands.
“Today’s budget will help deliver those local priorities and is great news for the West Midlands, helping us build a solid platform for future growth across our region. It will provide money to improve and protect our public transport and for the construction of more affordable homes, echoing my own target to build 20,000 new social homes for those people who need them most.
“I will now work closely with Government departments and our local authorities on how best to use the resources available to secure the maximum benefit for the people of our region.”
There has been no direct comment from South Yorkshire about using the cash for the upgrade and renewal of the Supertram network, but it has previously been a priority for the Combined Authority with various announcements that the replacement of the tram fleet was dependent on government funding.