TRANSPORT BOARD WINS MIILIONS FOR KENT

Kent Thames Gateway has won additional £33.5 million transport cash following a successful bid from the South East England Regional Transport Board for Government funding.

The money to support growth in Kent was announced last week at the Thames Gateway Forum in London. Government has accepted the Board's advice on the area's top five transport projects for completion by 2011. Four out of five are public transport projects. They are:

• Medway Strategic Bus Corridor which will include bus lanes and priority at traffic lights. Proposed routes are from Strood via Chatham to Gillingham and from Chatham via Chatham Maritime and Gillingham to Chattenden
• Three station improvements projects at Gillingham, Dartford and Northfleet
• A228 Ropers Lane to Grain project will improve journeys and road safety, and access to Thames Port at Isle of Grain. Improvements include a roundabout and two bridges.

The Board and the South East England Regional Assembly's system for prioritising transport projects has also been used for the Thames Gateway areas in London and East of England.

Chairman of the Regional Transport Board Cllr Nick Skellett said:

"This is good news for Kent and the region as whole. The area needs good transport links to support new housing and the local economy. We have been successful in securing more money for the region but it is important that we don't become complacent. The Board will continue to press Government for more infrastructure investment for new development."

The £33.5 million is in addition to £152 million for transport improvements (up to 2011) in Kent secured by the Board last year.

Contacts

Lesley van Dijk, Assembly PR Executive - 01483 555223

Heather Bolton, Assembly Communications Director - 01483 555220

Notes to editors:

1. More details about the Thames Gateway Delivery Plan, published on 29 November 2007, are available on the Communities and Local Government website.
2. The South East England Regional Transport Board is a partnership board advising Government on the region's transport priorities.
3. Cllr Nick Skellett - South East England Regional Assembly member and Surrey County Council Leader chairs the Board. There are a further five members on the Board alongside representatives from SEEDA, Government Office for the South East, South East Forum for Sustainability, Highways Agency, Confederation of Passenger Transport and Network Rail.
4. The Assembly is a partnership of councils and communities in the South East region. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the region, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
5. The Assembly is made up of 112 members including elected councillors nominated by the region's local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations) as well as the New Forest National Park Authority.

  6. The Assembly has six roles:

1. Regional Planning
   preparing and delivering the South East Plan
2. Regional Housing
   the Regional Housing Board decides housing investment priorities
3. Regional Transport
   the Regional Transport Board decides transport investment priorities
4. Advocacy
   pressing the South East's interests in London and Brussels
5. Accountability
   scrutinising SEEDA's plans and impact
6. Alignment
   co-ordinating regional policies and decisions.

Our vision is for a distinctive, outward-looking, accessible region of prosperous, sustainable communities, with a high quality of life and environment.

SOUTH EAST PHOTO LIBRARY

The South East England Regional Assembly's photo library MediaStore, gives everyone the chance to access images of issues affecting the region. MediaStore draws on the knowledge of the Assembly to provide you with images from all over the South East.

• regularly updated with photos covering topics from housing to transport to flooding
• easy to access and download
• fully searchable
• a wide variety of high resolution images
• there's no charge for this service, just credit the Assembly when an image is used.

To view images from across the region visit: www.southeast-ra-mediastore.co.uk

Last updated: 05 December 2007