Labour Councils up and down the country are helping to improve the lives of their residents.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Every week, \u2018LabourList\u2019 brings you a selection of the great work being done by Labour Councils and Labour mayors.<\/p>\n
This week we feature<\/p>\n
Nearly 600 on-street electric vehicle charge points in Redbridge
\nNew city centre car park to open in Swansea
\n\u00a3298m public transport package for the East Midlands
\nWork starts on final phase of Griffin housing regeneration in Blackburn
\nRailway line to reconnect Portishead with Bristol after 60 years
\nConstruction starts on 31 new Council homes in Rotherham
\nNew film and television production hub plans for Sunderland<\/p>\n
Please send news from your council to Paul Dimoldenberg at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Redbridge: Nearly 600 on-street electric vehicle charge points<\/p>\n The Labour London Borough of Redbridge has nearly 600 electric vehicle charge points<\/a> 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:<\/p>\n 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. 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.<\/p>\n Swansea: New city centre car park is now open<\/p>\n A new 628-space city centre car park has opened<\/a>, 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\u2019s 1-2-3-4-5 parking offer, with motorists paying \u00a31 an hour for up to five hours and a maximum of \u00a35 for up to 24 hours from Monday to Saturday. Sunday parking costs \u00a32. The car park operates a pay-on-return system using automatic number plate recognition.<\/p>\n The opening of the new facility has enabled the closure of the former St David\u2019s 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:<\/p>\n 628 parking spaces East Midlands: \u00a3298m transport package with electric buses and new travel hubs for the East Midlands<\/p>\n The East Midlands Combined County Authority Board has backed<\/a> \u00a3298m from Labour mayor Claire Ward\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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. Become a friend of LabourList<\/a> and join our community. Our friends support our vital non-factional work and get access to exclusive content and events.<\/p>\n Blackburn: Work starts on final phase of Griffin housing regeneration in Blackburn<\/p>\n Work has started on the final phase of the Griffin housing regeneration<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Funding has been secured through Labour Blackburn with Darwen Council\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n North Somerset: \u00a3197m railway line to reconnect Portishead with Bristol after 60 years<\/p>\n More than 50,000 people in North Somerset will get train services back<\/a> after more than 60 years, as work begins to restore the railway line to Portishead. The government has invested over \u00a363m to reconnect Portishead and Pill to the railway network as part of a \u00a3197m 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 \u2014 less than half the time journeys can take by car during rush-hour traffic.<\/p>\n 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 \u00a343m of economic growth for the region each year.<\/p>\n Rotherham: Construction starts on 31 new Council homes in Eastwood<\/p>\n Work has started on building 31 new Rotherham Council homes for local people to rent in Eastwood, to be built across two sites<\/a> \u2013 York Road and Netherfield Court \u2013 as part of Labour Rotherham Council\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Sunderland: New film and television production hub plans<\/p>\n Plans have been submitted<\/a> 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 \u00a338 million from Labour\u2019s North East mayor Kim McGuinness.<\/p>\n The 178,000 sq ft film and television production space will have capacity to host \u201cblockbuster\u201d films and smaller screen projects, as well as live events and gameshows. The studio plans form part of mayor Kim McGuinness\u2019 culture, creative industries and sport strategy, which will drive growth across the music, film, screen and writing and publishing sub-sectors.<\/p>\n Subscribe here to our daily newsletter<\/a> roundup of Labour news, analysis and comment\u2013 and follow us on TikTok<\/a>, Bluesky<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. You can also write to our editor<\/a> to share your thoughts on our stories and share your own. The best letters are published every Sunday.<\/p>\n SHARE:\u00a0If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story \u2013 or any other topic involving Labour\u2013 contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n230 fast EV charge points
\nSix rapid EV charge points\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n33 disabled spaces
\n26 parent and child spaces
\n30 electric vehicle charging bays
\n32 motorcycle bays<\/p>\n
\nNottinghamshire 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.
\nIn 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.
\nDerbyshire\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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