Regional Mayor can't promise that a Derby-Nottingham tram link will happen

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward refused to guarantee a new tram link will run from Derby to Nottingham – despite the project being labelled “a key growth zone” for the region.

But she insisted those struggling to live and work in both cities that better times are ahead as she unveiled “ground-breaking” growth plans for the region.

In June it was reported that a “mass transit” link between Derby and Nottingham was one of several key projects to be taken forward as part of a £2 billion transport improvement plan.

The Labour Mayor said a £300,000 feasibility study had been launched to explore tram links across the region – but this did not cover a specific Derby and Nottingham line.  

But speaking at an event in Derby to launch a region-wide growth funding master-plan – she suggested other much-needed transport projects could take priority instead.

“We have commissioned earlier this year on tram extensions – we will look at all of those things,” she said.

“We know the Trent Arc – the corridor between Nottingham and Derby – is going to have much more investment in it over the coming years and it is going to be able to move people around between the cities and the airport.

“We will look at all of those options. I can’t definitely tell you we are going to have a tram link between the two.” 

People travelling by public transport can already travel from Derby to Nottingham by train or bus without changes.

The Mayor said there were other parts of the East Midlands region where “large numbers” of towns and villages were “trapped” with very limited bus services. 

Ms Ward added: “(Some places) there’s no bus service on a Sunday, there’s nothing late at night. And if you’re young and you can’t drive, you are trapped in those communities. I need to think about how we will use that money right across the whole region.”

The East Midlands Mayor unveiled a list of recommendations as part of a detailed Inclusive Growth Commission report exploring in detail how money will be spent across the region to “unlock opportunities”. 

But she was not able to say how much it would cost to put the wide-scale improvement plans together. The Mayor said the recommendations will mean people living and working in Derby and across the region will have brighter futures and be able to earn more money.

Ms Ward was asked specifically what the people of Derby will see from the outcomes of this report and whether it was just words rather than action for families and children living in poverty. 

She responded: “I want some of those children in some of the most deprived parts of our cities to have an opportunity for the future. That is about not having to leave this city or region to get on in life. 

“They can do it here with a much better educational opportunity with access to good employers and access to great jobs in the future.”

A press release from the East Midlands Combined County Authority says supporting new industrial sites could help 30,000 low-paid workers earn around £6,700 more each year. And helping to build stronger networks “could add £1.4 billion in extra income for the poorest households over the next 10 years”.

But these plans are for the long term – what about the short term with struggling families in Derby and across the region needing help now? 

Ms Ward said: “People are struggling now, they are fed up. They can’t see how they can get out of it.

“What we are offering is not a short-term fix but a long term solution that will deliver a better economy. People do want change and we need to get on with it.”