Towns to share £1bn ‘bypass’ road fund
RURAL towns and villages across England could get a share of £1billion a year to build bypasses and protect beauty spots from the “misery of lorries and thundering traffic”, ministers will announce today.
The Major Road Network plan will, for the first time, allow councils to apply for funding for smaller local Aroads, paid for out of vehicle excise duty. Schemes that help protect villages, curb bottlenecks and help businesses could win funding and those that can be delivered quickly will get priority. Business groups and road safety campaigners last night welcomed the news, as ministers claimed the investment would improve the UK’S productivity and help small businesses around the country.
The Government hopes the investment – the first time money raised centrally will go into a fund for smaller A-roads – will help people get to work and school, unlock new land and create growth after Brexit. Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, said: “The Trans- port Investment Strategy sets out a blueprint for how we can harness the power of transport investment to drive balanced economic growth, unlock new housing projects, and support the Government’s modern industrial strategy. This Government is taking the big transport decisions for Britain’s future while delivering the biggest investment in roads and rail for a generation.
“At the heart of our approach is a plan to make transport work for the people who use it and for the wider economy.” Currently, only larger A-roads such as the A1 and motorways, managed by Highways England, are entitled to central Government funding.
Smaller roads which run through villages and towns, often blighted by traffic and bottlenecks, are run by councils, and local authorities must apply for special grants to improve them.
Ministers claim the new fund will make it easier for councils to invest in problem areas, including roads like the A595 in Barrow-in-furness where a major link used by businesses such as Siemens and BAE Systems runs through a farmyard which causes traffic backlogs and pollution.