Transport Insights

Ministers have announced a further 16 local authority road schemes that survived the review initiated last year, but the schemes join a long queue with no funding any time soon.

Last year the Department for Transport (DfT) claimed to have green-lit 28 major road network (MRN) or large local major (LLM) schemes, albeit that many were already in construction and others only working on their business cases.

It announced that a further list of (42) schemes were “under consideration”, with transport secretary Heidi Alexander telling MPs that these schemes “now need to be reviewed”.

Today, Alexander revealed that only 16 of these schemes had survived the review process: She said in a statement:

The previous government left us with an unrealistic and unaffordable programme of schemes which we have had to review in the best interests of local and national taxpayers.

She stressed that:

this represents a government funding commitment of around £1 billion, subject to each scheme securing the necessary business case and other approvals in due course.

She added:

Funding for each will be conditional on their satisfying the department that they have an acceptable business case.

Many of the other schemes that formed part of the review are being withdrawn on the grounds that the local authority can no longer afford its funding contribution, and my department is confirming the details of these with the relevant authorities. In respect of the remaining schemes, the department is finalising the way forward and will announce next steps in the early summer.

Strangely, today’s DfT press release said that:

the government is today also giving the green light to a further 16 road schemes on the major road network and local roads

Another reminder, if it were needed, that a DfT green light is much more like an amber light.

The problem is that there is probably not enough funding for the 18 schemes that were either newly approved or said to be working on business cases last year, let alone the next 16 in the queue.

As I have repeatedly pointed out, the “£1 billion to enhance and repair run down transport infrastructure and futureproof England’s road network” announced in June is to be shared between local road upgrades and the structures fund.