A Government Minister yesterday rubber stamped a £20 million package to boost transport links in two Midland towns.
Transport Minister Derek Twigg announced that £16 million plans to improve Walsall's ring road had been given the go-ahead.
Proposals for a new £4.1 million public transport interchange at the new Coleshill railway station were also confirmed, Mr Twigg said.
The Walsall scheme will increase capacity on the town's ring road and improve access to the town centre by easing the flow of traffic. Buses in particular will be able to move more freely around the town centre.
The plans, which were provisionally accepted in December 2002, would "bring significant benefits to Walsall by reducing traffic, noise and pollution from the town centre," Mr Twigg said.
The Coleshill Multi Modal Interchange had received planning consent in December 2003, subject to final approval by Ministers.
Keith Stanley, Walsall director of Black Country Chamber of Commerce, and newlyelected chairman of the Walsall Borough Strategic Partnership Transport Group, said: "The Chamber of Commerce enlisted the support of our local MPs in lobbying for the work to go ahead and we now look forward to rapid progress on easing the congestion that is threatening to strangle enterprise in the borough."
