The additional £7 million the boroughs are to receive next April from Transport for London (TfL) for improving the capital’s roads and footways must not be swallowed up in red tape, London Councils has warned.
The Mayor of London announced today (Thursday) that boroughs would receive around £168 million through the Borough Spending Plans in the next financial year. This money would be used for initiatives including safer routes to school, improvements to local town centres, road maintenance, road safety schemes, and schemes that support walking and cycling.
However, London Councils is concerned that, despite efforts to reduce the bureaucracy boroughs face while working with TfL, there is a very real danger that much of this extra money could be lost.
Chairman of London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee, Cllr Daniel Moylan, said: “Obviously we welcome any additional funding to improve and maintain London’s paths and roads. But unless we quickly remove the hurdles boroughs face in working with TfL funding for vital work will be lost.
“London boroughs are committed to delivering sustained improvements for London’s communities. However, TfL have a big role in helping them achieve this.
“If TfL is able to produce a 10-year business plan then surely they should be able to provide boroughs with a similar forecast for how much money they will receive from TfL during that time. Currently boroughs are only aware of how much funding they get one year at a time which does little for boroughs’ ability to forward plan.
“TfL should also bear in mind that Londoners will expect it to maintain, and even increase, the levels of funding it provides boroughs for these schemes. They, like the boroughs, will not tolerate cuts in funding.”
