National Productivity Investment Fund

On 25 October 2017, we successfully obtained £5.43m funding as part of the governments National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF).

What is the NPIF?

This fund was set up by government and to aims to ease congestion and provide upgrades on important national, regional or local routes to help unlock economic and job opportunities or enable the delivery of vital new housing developments. There is £244 million of funding for 76 projects.

What will we do with the funding?

The funding will help finance the The Putney Road West Project and the Urban Congestion Bus Pinch Point Improvement Project. 

Putney Road West Project

The funding will improve: 

• traffic movements close to the city centre whilst at the same time providing local businesses with improved access to the east of the city.
• the productivity potential of business and institutions to the south of the city; improve radial routes and linkages from the east of the city to the M1; and to enhance business prospects of potential developments of future business in the south of the city centre.  

Urban Congestion Bus Pinch Point Improvement Project

This includes a number of high priority locations that were identified through a Scrutiny Commission Review (2015) entitled A 'Review of Bus Lanes Policy and its Operation in Leicester'. It included an exercise in which bus companies were consulted in order to identify pinch-points on the network that effect the bus journey times or journey time reliability, which also impact the setting and operation of bus timetables. 

Interventions are proposed at the following locations with the aim of aim of reducing bus journey times and improving journey time reliability. It is also designed to be neutral to other highways users:

• St Margaret’s Bus Station exit junction
• Groby Road bus priority improvements
• Narborough Road bus priority improvements
• Uppingham Road bus priority improvements.

You can find both applications and the award letter below.