The Transport for London (TfL) Local Implementation Plan (LIP) program is the mechanism by which local boroughs including Merton receive funding from TfL
The LIP funding allocations from Transport for London for 2025-2026 have been issued.
Here's the letter TfL sent to Merton: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/merton-lip-letter-2025-26.pdf
Unfortunately the allocation received by Merton is disappointingly small.
Only £90K for Cycleways Network Development (CND). This indicates a failure to bid for any major schemes.
£0 for Safer Streets
£0 for Liveable Neighbourhoods
£100K for Bus Priority. We are not aware of any planned schemes so it seems likely this is just for feasibility/design. Bear in mind that according to London Travelwatch's report The Next Step: Making London's Buses Better, Merton has the WORST deterioration in bus speeds of ANY London borough.
This is not that surprising given Merton's failure to invest in cycling and failure to address congestion or motor traffic domination. Bus journeys get slower and less reliable as congestion rises, meaning more people opt to use a car, which makes congestion worse still. You would think that being bottom of the table would shake Merton out of its complacency, but the lack of planned schemes or any real strategy suggests Merton has been asleep at the wheel.
£929K for Safer Corridors and Neighbourhoods (SCN)
This might look like a success but in fact the amounts for this funding stream are calculated using a formula, rather than being discretionary. In principle this stream can include modal filters, school streets and other traffic-reduction measures, but we're not aware of any such schemes being proposed in 25/26. As traffic reduction is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to improve streets for cycling, this absence is very disappointing.
There is funding for parking ( Micromobility Parking £94K, Cycle Parking £65K) which is welcome, but alone these won't drive increased cycling, and putting inexperienced cyclists onto a dangerous cycle network is a recipe for casualties and near misses, which means new cyclists are more likely to quit.
In summary the failure of Merton to secure discretionary funding from TfL to improve the cycle network is not acceptable. Other boroughs are doing much better - Merton received half the average allocation. And this is part of a pattern: Merton fails year after year to put credible bids together.