GOVERNMENT NEGLECTS DERBYSHIRE'S TRANSPORT

12.00.00am GMT Tue 14th Mar 2006

New figures released today by the Liberal Democrats show massive discrepancies in transport investment per person between English local authorities. Twenty-one authorities have received less than £150 per resident to invest in transport improvements over the last eight years.

Residents in Derbyshire suffer from being in the bottom third of areas for investment, receiving well below the national average.

Commenting on these figures, Paul Holmes MP for Chesterfield, said:

"Local areas must be allowed far greater control over decisions relating to improvements in transport. This must extend to decisions on transport investment. It is no wonder that Chesterfield residents are still waiting for funding for the completion of the desperately needed Staveley/Brimington bypass - which they have repeatedly been promised ever since 1936!

I will be seeking clarification from the Transport Secretary as to why there has been such a wide variation in spending per head, and whether it can be justified against noticeable improvements in transport. Living in one of the areas receiving the least investment I wonder what whim of Alistair Darling's means that we don't deserve local transport improvements."

Residents in Derby City and Derbyshire County Councils receive just £19.13 per year per person compared to the national average of £24.24, and less than half of that of Shropshire (£44.75 per year per person).