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Essex gets funding boost for improved bus services

Simon Dedman/BBC The 552 Billericay to Ramsden Heath service operated by First at a bus stop in the dark with its lights onSimon Dedman/BBC
The money is for bus services across the county

Essex is set to receive nearly £23m from the government to improve its bus services.

The money is part of the £81m that has been allocated to the East of England by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh.

Essex County Council is set to get £17.8m. Thurrock is in line for just under £2m and Southend-on-Sea City Council is due to get £2.5m.

Daniel Cowan, the Labour leader of the Southend council, said the money would be "transformational".

"[I am] absolutely delighted. I think the last bus funding improvement plan that we got was just under £500,000 as a one-year allocation, so to get just under £2m as a one-year allocation will be transformational," he said.

"We already had big plans for the small amount of funding we had previously, so I am sure we will have even more ambitious plans for this £2.5m."

The money is part of a total of £955m being allocated in England towards bus services outside London.

Ms Haigh said: "For far too long, the East of England has been suffering from unreliable services with buses hugely delayed, or not even turning up at all."

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The government funding could be used to establish new routes or bring back previous ones.