Funding accepted to start planning transport improvements worth £4.5m in and around Mumps area

Oldham Council has secured £675,000 of funding to start planning work on a major project to improve transport in and around Mumps.

The money will be used to draw up plans for the scheme which, the council insist, when complete will help deliver real benefits for residents – making sure people are better connected and can access jobs, education and training.

Oldham Mumps Corridor Improvements – this scheme focuses on delivering better, quicker and safer access for bus users and people walking and cycling along the corridor (A669 Lees Road, A62 Bottom O’ Th’ Moor/Huddersfield Road, B6194 Cross Street) to the east of Oldham town centre.

These plans will support nearby developments, such as the regeneration of Southlink where up to 150 houses will be built.

The council has vowed to also look to improve the area around the existing Mumps transport interchange and create an improved cycle parking hub.

The plan fits with Greater Manchester’s ‘Streets for All’ principles, which look to support transport users and create thriving places that support local communities and businesses.

Councillor Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council, said: “Due to the ongoing improvement work on Oldham Way we know travelling through Mumps is slower than usual at the minute.

“In future we want to make it as easy and safe as we can for people to access and travel through the area.

“This is a part of our plans to deliver a better transport system for the borough and Oldhamers - helping our town to grow into a cleaner and greener place fit for the challenges that we all face.

“We want a system that works for residents and tackles the climate emergency, and this is what we are aiming to put in place over the coming years.

“With Oldhamers facing rising costs everyday we want to make it easier for people to get about without using their cars.

"By building an affordable and reliant public transport system, we’ll be helping to cut pollution and free up road space for essential journeys.

“Everyone in Oldham has something to offer and better transport brings long term benefits which will support the development of new homes, jobs and businesses whilst opening up the rest of Greater Manchester to our residents.

“We welcome this funding, but I would always like to see more coming into the town so we can deliver a joined-up transport system.”

At Monday night’s Cabinet meeting, councillors agreed to accept the funding, which has been provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS).

The overall cost of the scheme is £4.5m – with the money to pay for it coming from the CRSTS programme, a national £5.7 billion investment in local transport networks.

Greater Manchester has secured £1.07bn of money to deliver rail, bus and Metrolink schemes across all 10 boroughs.

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