Work will begin soon to build a bus rapid transit system in Bristol after funding was granted for a route between Ashton Vale and Temple Meads.

Ministers approved funding worth £34M towards the £45M project which will include a new 4km dedicated busway built from the South West of Bristol into the city centre. The scheme is set to open in April 2016.

“This is really positive news," said a West of England joint transport board spokesman. "We can now finalise everything with our contractors and actually get on with construction work.”

This latest announcement means that planning permission has now been granted for all three routes that make up a £200M West of England MetroBus scheme. The other two are from North Fringe to Hengrove and a South Bristol Link.

Once complete the MetroBus rapid transit scheme is expected to provide better bus connections between key areas of employment, housing, retail and leisure. It is designed to tackle traffic congestion and help with regeneration.

Steer Davies Gleave managed the approval submission for the Ashton Vale scheme to the Department for Transport on behalf of the West Of England Partnership. SDG's head of planning Sharon Daly said: “We are delighted that Ashton Vale to Temple Meads has secured full funding approval and that planning permissions are now in place for all of the MetroBus schemes."

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer added: “The Bristol Metrobus will provide a step change improvement for public transport serving not just in the city itself but also surrounding communities."

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