October 20th 2017

The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that Derby City Council has been successful in a bid to secure funding to extend the bus station.

The £3.6m has been allocated from the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF). NPIF is a £23bn source of central government investment for areas that are key to boosting productivity, including transport, digital communications, research and development, and housing.

The project will see the provision of additional waiting areas and nine additional bays to accommodate new and increased services from new housing sites.  The project also includes additional space for buses entering the concourse to ease congestion from the highway. The project will form an important part of the measures that the Council will have to introduce to meet the legal targets for nitrogen dioxide emissions.

The funding award will allow the project to move forward quickly and it is hoped that a planning application, detailing the proposed bus station extension, will be made in early 2018.

Councillor Martin Rawson, Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy said:

“This is a welcome announcement which will have a positive outcome for local people, businesses and commuters.  The bus station currently accommodates over 500,000 departures per year, and there are a number of services that terminate on street, which can create congestion in the city centre.  With the Derby Urban Area set to grow by 18,000 new homes by 2028, it is essential that investment is made to be able to support and encourage people to travel by sustainable modes.  This extension will not only allow us to  extend  the number of services into the city from these new developments, but will  further improve journey times, and  reduce congestion in the city centre.  This will encourage more residents to travel by bus, which will positively contribute to an improvement in air quality in Derby”

Tom Morgan, Director of Service Delivery said:

“At trentbarton we are fully supportive of Derby City Council’s NPIF bid which will assist with the continual investment in public transport infrastructure.  The investment will ensure the high standard of delivery can continue, improve and grow in line with the growth we are currently seeing in public transport use.”