Delivering in local government: How Labour is building a better Britain everywhere

Labour Councils up and down the country are helping to improve the lives of their residents.

Week in, week out, Labour councils, working in partnership with the NHS, Homes England and the Labour Government, are getting things done for their local communities on the things that matter to local people.

Every week, ‘LabourList’ brings you a selection of the great work being done by Labour Councils and Labour mayors.

This week we feature

• Nearly 600 on-street electric vehicle charge points in Redbridge
• New city centre car park to open in Swansea
• £298m public transport package for the East Midlands
• Work starts on final phase of Griffin housing regeneration in Blackburn
• Railway line to reconnect Portishead with Bristol after 60 years
• Construction starts on 31 new Council homes in Rotherham
• New film and television production hub plans for Sunderland

Please send news from your council to Paul Dimoldenberg at [email protected].

Redbridge: Nearly 600 on-street electric vehicle charge points

The Labour London Borough of Redbridge has nearly 600 electric vehicle charge points installed on its streets, with more on the way. The Council wants to ensure that by 2030, every resident is within at least a 3-minute walk of an EV charge point. Currently, there are 595 council-backed public chargers comprising:

• 359 slow EV charge points, mainly on lampposts, which can be used overnight by local people to charge their vehicles where they do not have front drives.
• 230 fast EV charge points
• Six rapid EV charge points 

The Council has also secured two additional external grants to continue expanding the EV charging network across the borough. The increased number of EV charging points also gives people without the ability to charge on a driveway the confidence to make the switch to electric, knowing they can easily charge an EV using the growing number of public charging points available across Redbridge.

Swansea: New city centre car park is now open

A new 628-space city centre car park has opened, providing more parking for residents and visitors while supporting the ongoing regeneration of the Copr Bay area. The seven-storey Copr Bay North car park is part of Labour Swansea Council’s 1-2-3-4-5 parking offer, with motorists paying £1 an hour for up to five hours and a maximum of £5 for up to 24 hours from Monday to Saturday. Sunday parking costs £2. The car park operates a pay-on-return system using automatic number plate recognition.

The opening of the new facility has enabled the closure of the former St David’s multi-storey car park, which will now be demolished to make way for further city centre regeneration. Overall, the area will benefit from a net increase of more than 250 parking spaces. The new car park features:

• 628 parking spaces
• 33 disabled spaces
• 26 parent and child spaces
• 30 electric vehicle charging bays
• 32 motorcycle bays

East Midlands: £298m transport package with electric buses and new travel hubs for the East Midlands

The East Midlands Combined County Authority Board has backed £298m from Labour mayor Claire Ward’s Transport Fund for new electric buses, upgraded bus stations, transport hubs, cycle routes and real-time passenger information systems in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

• In Nottingham, investment will fund new electric buses for Nottingham City Transport and Trent Barton, upgrades to key bus corridors including the A6002, Thane Road and Meadows Way, and a segregated cycle route linking Wigman Road with Harvey Hadden Sports Village.
• Nottinghamshire will see new transport hubs in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Cotgrave, East Leake and Ollerton, alongside a new bus station in Sutton-in-Ashfield. Plans also include 900 real-time passenger information displays and solar-powered lighting at 500 bus shelters.
• In Derby, funding has been earmarked for improvements to Derby Bus Station, upgrades to 120 bus stops and the early design phase of several walking and cycling schemes.
• Derbyshire’s allocation includes five new transport hubs, improved links between market towns, a new active travel route connecting Balborough and Clowne Greenway, and 700 additional real-time information displays across the county.

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Blackburn: Work starts on final phase of Griffin housing regeneration in Blackburn

Work has started on the final phase of the Griffin housing regeneration scheme in Blackburn. The development will deliver 80 new homes, including a mix of privately owned and affordable properties, completing the transformation of the Griffin area. It builds on the success of the first phase off Shakespeare Way, which delivered 56 new affordable homes that attracted more than 400 applications.

Funding has been secured through Labour Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Section 106 contributions to support the development, including work to address site complexities. The homes will be built using red brick to reflect local character, with existing trees and hedges retained where possible. A new access road will also be created, linking to the nearby mini roundabout.

North Somerset: £197m railway line to reconnect Portishead with Bristol after 60 years

More than 50,000 people in North Somerset will get train services back after more than 60 years, as work begins to restore the railway line to Portishead. The government has invested over £63m to reconnect Portishead and Pill to the railway network as part of a £197m funding package agreed with Helen Godwin, Labour Mayor West of England, and North Somerset Council. Services are due to begin in 2028, with passengers able to travel directly between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads in around 25 minutes — less than half the time journeys can take by car during rush-hour traffic.

The scheme will upgrade 5.5 miles of existing freight railway, restore 3 miles of former railway, and deliver two new stations at Pill and Portishead. In time, the restored railway line will connect through to Bristol Brabazon and the new Aviva Arena. The project is expected to create an estimated £43m of economic growth for the region each year.

Rotherham: Construction starts on 31 new Council homes in Eastwood

Work has started on building 31 new Rotherham Council homes for local people to rent in Eastwood, to be built across two sites – York Road and Netherfield Court – as part of Labour Rotherham Council’s promise to provide 1,000 new homes by summer 2027. The developments will include a variety of two, three and four-bedroom houses and apartments for local people to rent. It follows the start of building work on 28 new Council properties on Denman Road, Bushfield Road and Valley Drive in Wath.

Last year the Council made changes to who can apply to join its Housing Register to ensure it prioritises those in genuine need and makes best use of the Council’s homes. The tough but fair changes include tougher residency or work requirements and tightened rules to ensure larger properties will be prioritised for families. The Council is continuing to support neighbourhood improvements in Eastwood through a coordinated approach that combines enhanced street cleansing, enforcement action and community and schools engagement.

Sunderland: New film and television production hub plans

Plans have been submitted to create Studio One at Crown Works, in Sunderland, on land next to the River Wear, which will feature three sound stages and production accommodation. The proposed development sits within the wider Crown Works Growth Zone and has been backed by more than £38 million from Labour’s North East mayor Kim McGuinness.

The 178,000 sq ft film and television production space will have capacity to host “blockbuster” films and smaller screen projects, as well as live events and gameshows. The studio plans form part of mayor Kim McGuinness’ culture, creative industries and sport strategy, which will drive growth across the music, film, screen and writing and publishing sub-sectors.

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