£1m funding for Transport for the South East

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has announced £1 million of funding for the work of Transport for the South East (TfSE).

The money will help to pay for the development of a transport strategy for the region as TfSE moves towards becoming a statutory body in the next two years.

It came as a study commissioned by TfSE revealed that cutting journey times by just a minute on one of the busiest transport routes in the South East could add as much as £4.5 million a year to the national economy.

TfSE is a partnership of 16 local authorities, including Surrey County Council, and five local enterprise partnerships.

Surrey County Council’s deputy leader John Furey said: “Improved transport links and other infrastructure are essential to meet the needs of Surrey and the South East’s growing population and economy otherwise congestion is only going to increase. That is why the county council also wants to see the funding system changed so busier roads get more money.”