Mayor Rejects Call to Redirect Spare EMCCA Funds to Nottinghamshire Roads

The East Midlands Mayor has dismissed a request from Nottinghamshire County Council to allocate all unassigned regional transport funding to its highways budget, saying the proposal “was never going to be accepted by anyone else”.

At a January meeting of the East Midlands Combined Authority (EMCCA) transport committee, Councillor Bert Bingham argued Nottinghamshire was facing “underfunding” and a “lack of representation” after being allocated £47M for highways in 2026/27 — around £35M less than the estimated £82M needed to maintain its roads in their current condition.

He proposed that £18.5M of funding yet to be allocated by EMCCA be directed to the county to help close the gap.

However, Mayor Claire Ward said the request was unrealistic given the needs of the region’s other authorities.

“That was never going to be accepted by anyone else,” she said, adding that the current situation stemmed from “successive years of underfunding of our councils and highways”.

EMCCA agreed in January to allocate £120M across Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire for 2026/27. Funding was distributed using a Department for Transport formula based on factors such as road length and streetlights.

Under the settlement:

• Derbyshire will receive £58M (against a need of £53M)

• Nottingham and Derby city councils will each receive £8M (meeting estimated needs)

• Nottinghamshire will receive £47M (short of its £82M requirement)

A further £22M was allocated for specific projects, including improvements to the A614/A6097 and a road safety programme in Nottinghamshire.

EMCCA’s Head of Transport Investment, Alex Linton, said allocations were designed to maintain year-on-year funding levels rather than match estimated maintenance requirements.

Cllr Bingham noted Nottinghamshire’s “amber” rating in the Department for Transport’s latest Local Road Maintenance Ratings table and said additional funding would support improvements to condition and performance metrics.

Mayor Ward said EMCCA had increased highways funding by 40% last year and 60% this year, with further increases planned, but stressed delivery remained the responsibility of local councils.