A bid for £3.5 million of Government cash to help revamp Leicester's Haymarket bus station has succeeded.
The Department of Transport has revealed Leicester City Council will get the cash towards a £13.5 million renovation of the 1994 built bus interchange in Charles Street
The council has already committed £10 million to the project
Now the cash has been secured the project could be completed by Christmas 2015.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby: "It's taken us three attempts to convince the Government that they should be backing this scheme, but today's decision proves that perseverance pays!
"This extra money means we can go ahead and build the concourse and waiting facilities that will give the city the high quality bus station it deserves."
The project will see the number of bus stands increase from 12 to 23.
A block of shops on the corner of Charles Street will have to be demolished and Belgrave Gate to expand the station and is in talks about relocating five businesses.
A previous bid for £5 million of Government support to transform the site failed because of concerns about the comfort of passengers in the new station.
The £3.5 million grant to the council is one of 25 schemes funded from a £49 million pot announced today (Fri) by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
He said: "These projects will benefit communities up and down the country and help keep Britain moving.
"By investing in our local and regional transport infrastructure we can help support new jobs and boost our overall competitiveness in the global economic race."
