Investing in Britain’s Future
Historically, a change of Government has meant the reviewing of all major highways schemes followed by a period of inactivity while the powers that be procrastinate about which schemes to take forward. The congestion and poor condition of much of the strategic highway network is testament to this fact.
On 27th June 2013, HM Treasury published ‘Investing in Britain’s Future’, a report setting out the Government’s infrastructure investment priorities to 2015 and beyond. This report is an update to the National Infrastructure Plan, which was first published in 2010 and is updated annually.
The Government has recognised that the preference for short-term planning in recent years needs to be replaced by strategic, long-term infrastructure planning and continued investment. They are now committing to publicly fund specific projects worth over £100 billion over the life of the next parliament, including over £70 billion in transport. The Government will:
1. Commit to the biggest programme of investment in roads since the 1970s, trebling annual investment in major road schemes by 2020-21compared to today’s levels by:
- – adding extra lanes to the busiest motorways, equating to at least 221 lane miles;
- – building all available Highways Agency road projects to tackle the most congested parts of the network;
- – identifying and funding solutions to tackle some of the most notorious and longstanding road hot spots in the country;
- – upgrading the national non-motorway network managed by the Highways Agency;
- – repairing the national and local road network. A total commitment of £10 billion to resurface the vast majority of the national network by 2020-21;
2. Build High Speed 2 (HS2) and establish a HS2 growth taskforce to capitalise on the growth opportunities across the country resulting from HS2.
Building on the successful delivery of the London Olympics, the Government will introduce a presumption that significant economic infrastructure projects should be undertaken by specialist delivery units with commercial expertise utilising private sector best practice.
Although there has been a history of broken promises, ‘Investing in Britain’s Future’ places a lot more emphasis on long-term planning and continued investment. This should mean that developers can have more certainty and confidence that road schemes will be delivered as planned, benefitting – and in some cases enabling – their development. It is this which has certainly been lacking up to now.
A New Highways Agency
The Highways Agency (HA) will be changed from an executive agency into a publicly-owned corporation with long-term funding certainty and greater flexibility. This change will see the HA move from being the monkey to being the organ grinder. Although still publicly funded, they will no longer be part of the Department for Transport, rather an independent organisation funded by the Department and less open to a sudden review of all schemes under consideration.
In the past, the stop-start investment that has been so detrimental to the country’s road network, has meant that the industry and public have lost confidence. The commitment to plan for the longer-term, rather than solving problems created directly or indirectly by Governmental delays to projects, is encouraging. Whilst similar promises have been made in the past, the reform of the Highways Agency should lead to a more consistent approach to infrastructure planning for the future and more certainty for developers and road users.
The planned investment and the HA reforms will be supported by legislation providing more certainty that the Government will not walk away from this commitment.
On the whole, the proposals are a step in the right direction on the road to providing an efficient transport system that is essential for stimulating investment, enabling growth and building a strong economy.
For more information…
The full report can be viewed here