New transport gateway can kickstart Sutton masterplan
A massive multi-million-pound Government investment to create a new transport gateway in Sutton can kickstart the masterplan to revive the town centre, say local leaders.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street says he wants Sutton to receive tens of millions of pounds as part of a bid for a share of more than £2 billion of Government cash.
Sutton MP Andrew Mitchell and town council leader Councillor Simon Ward are also backing the bid, which they say will fund the creation of a new transport hub – but will also underpin ambitious plans to reinvent the whole town centre.
Mr Street said: “The town centre is of huge importance to Sutton Coldfield residents, and the town council has created a brilliant masterplan that aims to secure its future.
“The creation of a new transport gateway in the town centre, bringing together the train station, bus services and cycling routes, is key to the plan’s success, and this bid for cash can kickstart the entire process.”
Mr Street leads the West Midlands Combined Authority, which has approved bids to the Government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement fund and Bus Service Improvement Plan fund, which could secure investment of around £2 billion over the next five years.
Mr Mitchell said he was ‘determined to deliver’ the new gateway scheme.
He said: “Andy Street and I have been working on this for more than a year, visiting Chancellor Rishi Sunak and doing everything we can to get money in to make this plan happen. Transport is going to be hugely important to a reimagined Sutton town centre, but this money will also underpin the wider ambitions of the masterplan.”
Across the region, the money will also be used to extend the West Midlands Metro network in Walsall, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
New and redeveloped railway stations are planned at Aldridge, Tettenhall, Solihull and Sutton while there are plans to reopen the Sutton Park railway line – currently used for freight only.
Further investment would see new rapid bus services launched, lower fares, more zero-emission vehicles and the development of miles of cycling routes to support the region’s economic growth and net-zero carbon targets.
Councillor Ward, leader of Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council, said: “This is about much more than just transport – it is a catalyst that will drive the regeneration of our town centre, something residents have been saying they want to see for so long.
“The masterplan sees our town centre as a different town centre, with more leisure and residential in the mix – this money will start the whole process. I am delighted that Andy Street and Andrew Mitchell are pushing so hard, alongside the town council to drive that vision forward.”
