Mayor of London announces £40m transport scheme investment

The schemes have been recommended for funding by the Local Enterprise Panel (LEP). The Mayor said that the projects are all in areas where "ambitious" regeneration plans are in place and where transport infrastructure could help unlock economic growth.

The projects could create or safeguard up to 45,000 jobs as well as support the construction of tens of thousands of homes and attract "significant" investment into deprived areas, the Mayor said.

The approved proposals include £25m of funding to North London Strategic Alliance for rail upgrades to provide extra services at Tottenham Hale and Northumberland Park and improve rail links between Stratford, the Upper Lee Valley and beyond. The funding is part of a £72m West Anglia upgrade project.

£6.8m of funding is set to be allocated for Ealing Council to accelerate development and improve road access ahead of the arrival of Crossrail. It will support transport works to enable development by the new Crossrail station and nearby housing developments as well as attracting investment into Southall Gateway and South Gasworks sites.

Bexley Council is set to receive £5.7 of funding for major road improvements to ease traffic flow. The scheme is expected to ensure the retention of 7,800 jobs and the creation of 1,400 jobs in Erith and Belvedere.

The funding is part of £111m allocated to the Mayor from the Government's Growing Places fund to support the work of the LEP. The funding granted to individual projects will be repaid into the central fund via section 106 agreements, land receipts and community infrastructure levy receipts and then reinvested.

"Transport links are a vital precursor to economic development," said Johnson in a statement. "This money is earmarked for investment into transport schemes which have significant potential to stimulate growth and job creation."

"I welcome the London Enterprise Panel's assessment of which projects are best placed to do this and City Hall will now be working with the bid teams to progress these ambitious proposals," he added.

"We've selected ambitious projects that meet strong criteria in terms of their ability to support regeneration and create significant numbers of jobs," said Deputy Mayor for business and enterprise and LEP co-chair Kit Malthouse. "I am delighted to confirm this investment into infrastructure that will have a major impact for people in these areas."

The bids for funding will now proceed to the final stage of the bidding process which will include the development of business cases, technical modelling and delivery mechanisms.