UK Government urged to improve roads in North and Midlands

The government should prioritise road upgrades in the north and the midlands to improve connectivity and trade across England, independent government advisors have said.

According to the National Infrastructure Commission, only 22% of National Highways’ current five-year £27.4bn second Road Investment Strategy programme covered these regions, which the NIC said “was not consistent with helping underperforming regions,” nor does its current approach target national and regional productivity goals.

In its Second National Infrastructure Assessment report, the body – set up by then-chancellor George Osborne in 2015 to advise the government on infrastructure policy – said policymakers should carry out “systematic” analysis of how and where connectivity could be most improved, focusing on routes which are most important for trading between places and key freight hubs.

It also said National Highways “should then identify which sections of these important routes underperform in terms of journey times, or where there may be missing links in the existing network.”

Two years in the making and covering road, rail, water, electricity and digital infrastructure, the 202-page report includes a suggested map of targeted road improvements that should be carried out in the next 30 years, with Bradford, Leeds and Kingston-Upon-Hull noted as poorly connected places with improvements needed.

Much of the midlands and the north’s road network are considered weak and in need of upgrade, although Sir John Armitt, the chair of the NIC, said the government, local leaders and National Highways will need to determine which enhancements to focus on.

“We’ve identified some of the worst-performing routes on the network where there is substantial passenger and freight demand between key places. 

“This is not a literal road map of ready-to-go projects and further work needs to be undertaken to discern the right schemes to advance,” he told journalists during a briefing about the report.

The NIC also warned that maintenance and renewal of the roads in England is likely to become more expensive in the future owing to the impact of climate change, assets reaching lifespan limits and increased demand leading to greater wear and said historical levels of spend “are unlikely to be sufficient to provide outcomes similar to today.” 

It recommended the government increase transport infrastructure funding to £28bn a year between 2025 and 2040, up from the current £20bn a year. 

Sir John also questioned Wales’ approach to not build any new roads: “I find it a slightly puzzling decision. We made the point in the report about the infrastructure connectivity of the major towns and cities of the country and Wales will have to make its own judgement about the impact not building new roads or adding significant decongestion of the roads will have on the economy,” he said in response to a question posed by Autocar.

The government is expected to respond formally to the report within 12 months.

By Daniel Puddicombe