Transforming Travel in south east Dorset
Funding
We have been jointly awarded funding from the government's Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) with BCP Council, to invest in sustainable transport across the south east Dorset city region.
We have a programme budget of £102m funded by:
We have a programme budget of £102m funded by:
- TCF (£79m)
- Dorset Council and BCP Council
- Sustrans
- local business groups and transport companies
Our aims
The programme aims to:- transform local travel
- help to reduce road congestion and pollution
- improve air quality
- bring economic and health benefits
Improvements we're making
The TCF money can only be used for investment in sustainable travel. We will use it to make:- a network of new cycling and walking routes
- bus improvements across our region, connecting major housing, employment, education and retail centres
- safe, green and healthy travel options to get around, rather than relying on a car, particularly for shorter journeys
The routes are:
- Poole town centre to/from Ferndown and Wimborne
- Poole town centre to/from Wareham Road, Holton Heath
July 2023 update
Following a national review by the Department for Transport of the 12 city regions that received a share of the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF), an updated programme of sustainable travel improvements that will be funded through south east Dorset’s TCF programme has been approved and published.
BCP Council and Dorset Council’s ambition to build a fully connected network of 6 sustainable travel routes across south east Dorset remains. However, as reported at the start of 2023, rising construction, labour and fuel costs, growing inflation and changes to national design standards for cycling infrastructure mean south east Dorset’s original TCF budget, awarded pre-pandemic in March 2020, is no longer sufficient to build the entire network of cycle, walking and bus improvements planned across the region. The government does not have any extra funding to cover the impact of these unforeseen rises in costs.
View maps showing the revised programme of schemes for each of the 6 sustainable travel routes.
They show the sections that will continue to be constructed and funded through south east Dorset’s TCF and those that will be funded through other sources or deferred until further funding has been secured.
Priority has been given to TCF programme schemes that link into existing sustainable travel infrastructure, providing an immediate level of connectivity and more continuous travel routes.
Initial design plans for the deferred sections of the 6 sustainable travel routes across south east Dorset have been prepared and undergone public consultation. These sections remain a priority for BCP Council and Dorset Council and will be progressed in future years when additional funding becomes available.
