National Productivity Investment Fund for the Local Road Network Application Form The level of information provided should be proportionate to the size and complexity of the project proposed. As a guide, for a small project we would suggest around 10 -15 pages including annexes would be appropriate. One application form should be completed per project and will constitute a bid. Applicant Information Local authority name(s)*: Leicestershire County Council *If the bid is for a joint project, please enter the names of all participating local authorities and specify the lead authority. Bid Manager Name and position: Ann Carruthers, Assistant Director, Highways and Transport Name and position of officer with day to day responsibility for delivering the proposed project. Contact telephone number: 0116 3057966 Email address: [email protected] Postal address: Environment & Transport Leicestershire County Council County Hall Leicester Road Glenfield LE3 8RA Combined Authorities If the bid is from an authority within a Combined Authority, please specify the contact, ensure that the Combined Authority has provided a note ranking multiple applications, and append a copy to this bid. Name and position of Combined Authority Bid Co-ordinator: Contact telephone number: Email address: Postal address: 1 When authorities submit a bid for funding to the Department, as part of the Government’s commitment to greater openness in the public sector under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, they must also publish a version excluding any commercially sensitive information on their own website within two working days of submitting the final bid to the Department. The Department reserves the right to deem the business case as non-compliant if this is not adhered to. Please specify the weblink where this bid will be published: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/road-maintenance/road-schemes 2 SECTION A - Project description and funding profile A1. Project name: Hinckley Hub Sub-Package (Part of Hinckley Area Project Zone 4) A2: Please enter a brief description of the proposed project (no more than 50 words) The whole Hinckley Area Project Zone 4 supports delivery of around 5,900 new homes and 1,600 new jobs. The Hinckley Hub Sub-Package forms a key element of Zone 4, delivering: • Capacity improvements (Hawley Road and Brookside junctions) • Parking and traffic management • Signage upgrades • Walking and cycling improvements across town centre. A3: Please provide a short description of area covered by the bid (no more than 50 words) Hinckley is in one of five prioritised Growth Areas (GA5) identified in the Leicester and Leicestershire Local Enterprise Partnership’s Strategic Economic Plan, offering the greatest opportunities for economic growth. Hinckley Zone 4 covers the Town Centre and A47 corridor around Hinckley. OS Grid Reference: SP423932 (Hinckley Hub) Postcode: LE10 0FR Please append a map showing the location (and route) of the project, existing transport infrastructure and other points of particular relevance to the bid, e.g. housing and other development sites, employment areas, air quality management areas, constraints etc. A4. How much funding are you bidding for? (please tick the relevant box): Small project bids (requiring DfT funding of between £2m and £5m) Large project bids (requiring DfT funding of between £5m and £10m) A5. Has any Equality Analysis been undertaken in line with the Equality Duty? Yes No A6. If you are planning to work with partnership bodies on this project (such as Development Corporations, National Parks Authorities, private sector bodies and transport operators) please include a short description below of how they will be involved. Leicestershire County Council (LCC) has been working with key stakeholders in the wider Hinckley area for the past 4 years whilst developing and delivering transport improvements. An excellent working relationship has been established, enabling LCC to gain a greater understanding of the remaining transport issues in the town centre and surrounding area and also those that represent barriers to future growth. 3 The following stakeholders support the delivery of transport improvements in Hinckley, and have been involved throughout the planning and consultation process: - MIRA has been involved throughout the consultation process and will continue to be consulted, to ensure that the scheme results in minimal disruption to their business. - Local Bus Operators (Arriva and HinckleyBus) will be consulted to ensure that the scheme results in minimal disruption to their services and customers. - Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council have worked with colleagues at Leicestershire County Council to ensure that the Hinckley Area Project approach and proposed schemes delivers in line with the Local Plan and Town Centre Action Plan. - Hinckley Business Improvement District (BID) has been involved throughout the consultation process and provided valuable feedback. - Midlands Highway Alliance will be used to procure the main contractor for the construction of the scheme. - Highways England, as the highway authority for the A5, Highways England is supportive of the package of measures that ensures the efficient operation of the local network, which in turn assists the operation of the strategic road network. A7. Combined Authority (CA) Involvement Have you appended a letter from the Combined Authority supporting this bid? Yes No A8. Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Involvement and support for housing delivery Have you appended a letter from the LEP supporting this bid? Yes No For proposed projects which encourage the delivery of housing, have you appended supporting evidence from the housebuilder/developer? Yes No 4 SECTION B – The Business Case B1: Project Summary Please select what the project is trying to achieve (select all categories that apply) Essential Ease urban congestion Unlock economic growth and job creation opportunities Enable the delivery of housing development Desirable Improve Air Quality and /or Reduce CO2 emissions Incentivising skills and apprentices Other(s), Please specify - Provide significant improvements to encourage active travel modes that could result in substantial health benefits B2: Please provide evidence on the following questions (max 100 words for each question): a) What is the problem that is being addressed? Hinckley is seeking to capitalise on its strategic location to maximise its economic potential. The Rugby Road corridor, a key link to the Strategic Road Network (M69), currently suffers from significant peak period congestion and poor journey time reliability, including peak delays of up to 3 minutes per mile, which will worsen with planned growth. Without this phase of work the full benefits of previous investment (zones 1-3) will not be realised. This will result in the town centre becoming less attractive to employers, employees and future residents, restricting Hinckley’s ability to perform its town centre function for south-west Leicestershire. b) What options have been considered and why have alternatives been rejected? In developing a transport strategy for Hinckley Zone 4 a detailed feasibility study was undertaken (see attached), considering a range of transport solutions to meet the aims of the project. The junction improvements on the B590 Rugby Road corridor, at the junctions of Hawley Road and Brookside, are two of the key schemes identified in the strategy. As part of preliminary design work a localised microsimulation transport model has been developed to assess scheme options at the junctions. Alternative improvement options have been considered for the junctions and discounted to ensure maximum benefit and value for money. c) What are the expected benefits/outcomes? For example, could include easing urban congestion, job creation, enabling a number of new dwellings, facilitating increased GVA. Hinckley Area Project Zone 4 will: • Deliver £75 million (COBA 2010 values) benefits; • Deliver £8 million additional GVA benefits; • Support delivery of around 5,900 homes, creation of 1,600 new jobs, 2,500 training places and 110 apprenticeships; • Ensures maximum benefit from previous investment by completing the Area Project In contributing to delivering this, the Hinckley Hub Sub-Package will: 5 • Ease urban congestion (improved junction capacity, reduced queue lengths and delay per vehicle); • Improve access to key employment/retail centres, particularly the Crescent; • Improve connectivity for active travel modes across the town; and • Improvements to Hawley Road/Rugby Road and Brookside junctions have a BCR of 4.4 d) Are there are any related activities that the success of this project relies upon? For example, land acquisition, other transport interventions requiring separate funding or consents? Yes – the project requires 340m2 of third party land and negotiations are well progressed to secure it (see attached). e) What will happen if funding for this project is not secured - would an alternative (lower cost) solution be implemented (if yes, please describe this alternative and how it differs from the proposed project)? In the longer term, modelling shows that without intervention, congestion on the Rugby Road corridor increases markedly, affecting the efficient operation of existing businesses, including the Crescent and the MIRA Technology Park Enterprise Zone (when complete this will be the largest transport sector R&D technology park in Europe). Whilst part