South Devon misses out on vital transport funding, MP warns

South Devon’s rural communities face transport challenges as government funding falls short

Photo: Stagecoach

Reporter:

Guy Henderson

01 Jul 2025 3:04 PM

Email:

Radio Exe/LDRS

South Devon has missed the bus for funding support for rural transport.

The constituency’s Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden made the claim in the wake of a House of Commons debate on the subject.

She asked transport under-secretary Simon Lightwood if he would meet her to discuss the issues raised after Devon was largely left out of funding pledges in the chancellor’s recent spending review.

She said: “Devon and Torbay combined county authority will receive just £40 million between 2026 and 2030 in local transport grant funding, less than half of that being awarded to York and North Yorkshire and a fraction of the billions given to the city regions, despite the longest road network in the country.

“A large local operator says £1 million a year would make a transformational change in Devon, where rural deprivation is well hidden.”

Mr Lightwood answered the question with general figures on long-term bus investment.

After the debate Mrs Voaden said she was ‘incredibly disappointed’ by the minister’s answer.

She said: “The government is showing yet again that it has zero appreciation for how vital reliable, well-funded transport is for rural areas like South Devon.

“Since the election, there’s been plenty of funding going towards transport and infrastructure projects in the north, but next to nothing for rural areas like South Devon, where buses are not a convenience but a lifeline for our older population.”

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