Hopes £23m cash boost will fund new public transport link in Rutland
The County Council's made a joint bid for part of the Government's Levelling Up fund
Rutland County Council and Melton Borough Council have submitted a joint bid of £23 from the Government's Levelling Up fund.
If successful, part of the funding will go towards installing a new transport system in the County which will increase connectivity to Melton and the local towns and villages in between.
Rutland Memorial Hospital would get a £3.5m, 1000m2 innovation facility and community health hub, complete with a café.
A £6.5m travel anchor mobi-hub would also be built at the site that links into the Council's bus transport plans - allowing alternative access for patients and visitors to the hospital.
£2m would go towards introducing a mobile, digital visitor experience at Rutland County Museum.
Will the bus service come to me?
Should the money be allocated, it would first go towards improving a notoriously tricky issue for rural areas - public transport.
Council Leader Lucy Stephenson told Greatest Hits Radio where would benefit from the new-look bus route:
'It would be looking at Oakham via Langham, Cold Overton, Knossington, Somerby, Little Dalby, Great Dalby and then heading into Melton. We'd also be looking at Saxby, Wymondham, Thistleton so it's really connecting smaller rural villages.'
No new swimming pool
Cllr Stephenson said she was aware of the public's requests for a new swimming pool, after Catmose Sports Centre's was forced to close.
Though the criteria of the funding doesn't allow for a pool to be built, Cllr Stephenson said a new and improved transport system will help solve the problem:
'What we are looking at is how do you make sure that we have a transport network that actually has the right routes so you can access the various things - whether it's a swimming pool, whether it's shopping, work or education.'