Stoke-on-Trent City Council has set out how it will spend £4.65 million on a raft of transport schemes this year.

The council’s local transport plan (LTP) capital programme for 2022/23 includes projects to boost road safety outside schools, improve busy junctions and provide better pedestrian and cycling links.

Every year, the council will prioritise transport schemes to be carried out over the next 12 months using grant funding from the Government – some proposals can be listed on the capital programme for several years before being taken forward. This year, the council will spend £1 million on ‘safe and sustainable transport, £295,000 on improving network efficiency, £292,000 on schemes aimed at supporting the economy, and £89,000 on improving public transport.

Individual schemes include safety improvements to Endon Road in the city, where there have been six accidents in three years, including one where a child died, and Hollywall Lane, in Sandyford, where speeding is a major concern, especially near Star Academy. Another scheme will see improvements to the congested junction between the A34, Godwin Way and Clayton Lane, including new pedestrian crossings, reports the Stoke Sentinel.

Along with thelisted capital schemes, the £4.65 million LTP grant will also be spent on repairing potholes (£1.3 million), bridge strengthening and maintenance (£500,000), and carriageway and footway structural maintenance (£1.1 million). Along with the Government-funded schemes, the council is also spending its own money on various transport schemes in 2022/23, including £7.8 million on road resurfacing and £4.2 million on improvements to the Waterloo Road/ Cobridge Road junction.

At their latest meeting, cabinet members approved the LTP capital programme for 2022/23, and noted the indicative programmes for the next two years – the delivery of which will depend on future funding allocations from the Government.

Dan Jellyman, cabinet member for regeneration, infrastructure and heritage, said: “The programme is funded through a grant from the Department for Transport of around £4.6 million. That is in addition to the £13 million of the council’s own money that we’re investing in Stoke-on-Trent’s roads in this financial year, which means around £17 million will be spent on the council’s roads this year, which I believe is almost something of a record for a single financial year.

“Each scheme has been assessed following requests and then put in priority order. This year, we’re also making it more flexible for councillors to have additional work done. Councillors can now use some of their annual ward budget to fund surveys, which means they can get a quicker turnaround on some of their inquiries and focus resources on residents’ priorities.”