The council is set to receive over £100 million from the government to improve transport links from diverted HS2 funds – in what a south Cumbrian MP has labelled ‘game-changing’.

Westmorland and Furness Council is in line to receive £129 million from the local transport fund between 2025 and 2032 as part of a £4.7 billion national scheme to improve transport in the North and Midlands.

Conservative MPs in Cumbria have written to Westmorland and Furness Council, as well as Cumberland Council, calling on the authorities to use the funds to commence work on several road improvement schemes.

These include starting work on the Grizebeck bypass, carrying out safety works along the A590 and designing and scheduling improvements to Duddon Bridge.

Cumberland Council is also set to receive £147 million from the government to improve transport connections from the £1.47 billion of funding allocated to the North-West.

MP for Barrow and Furness Simon Fell said: “This is a game-changing sum of money – almost £300 million in transport funding being available to Cumbria for investment in our local road infrastructure over a seven-year period with the cancellation of HS2.

“We now have to seize the opportunity that this brings to deliver the improvements that we desperately need.

“This funding gives Westmorland and Furness the opportunity to immediately get the stalled Grizebeck bypass moving, improve Duddon Bridge, streamline and make safer the A590 down to the M6, and work with Cumberland on the improvements that the A595 desperately needs.

“I look forward to working with the Councils, and fellow MPs, to deliver on our residents’ priorities and to get Cumbria moving.”

The government say over the seven years as a whole this funding will be on average at least nine times more than these local authorities currently receive through the local integrated transport block which is the current mechanism for funding transport improvements in their areas.

MP for Copeland Trudy Harrison said: “In addition to the junction improvements put forward by Cumberland Highways Authority, many for safety reasons, securing the resilience of the A595 cannot be understated.

“The priority therefore must be on the bridges; Calder, Holmrook, Muncaster and the Duddon to ensure we have an A road open 24/7 whatever the weather and also the Grizebeck bypass.

“That unmarked, narrow road through a farmyard is not fit for purpose today, and has not been suitable for many decades. There is now a plan which must be fully funded and completed.”

The government say councils will work with local MPs, who will be held accountable by the government and their communities to make sure the money is spent promptly and effectively.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Today’s £1.48 billion investment is truly game-changing for the smaller cities, towns, and rural communities across the North West.

“This new funding boost will make a real difference to millions of people, empowering local authorities to drive economic growth, transform communities, and improve the daily transport connections that people rely on for years to come.”