Alliance against road building

PRESS RELEASE – 6th July 2006

GOVERNMENT GIVES GO-AHEAD TO MORE ROADS AND LEAVES MOST 'IN LIMBO' IN 10 YEAR TRANSPORT FUNDING PLANS

In a government transport funding shake-up, the government has given the go-ahead to yet more roads, and missed the opportunity to reject some very controversial road schemes [1]. The government had asked the eight English regions for their advice on transport priorities for the next ten years. In January 2006, the regions responded with lists that were heavily roads dominated [2]. Today the government has accepted most of the region's lists, with a strong dominance of road schemes, with little money going to public transport. Road Block said the funding bias will mean increased car dependency, rising traffic growth and carbon emissions. The government removed funding for a very few schemes, including the very controversial scheme at Salisbury - Brunel Link and Harnham Relief Road.

Road Block Coordinator Rebecca Lush said:

"The government has accepted the roads dominated transport lists from the regions, which means we are going to see a continuation of the depressing cycle of roadbuilding, traffic growth and rising carbon emissions. It is extremely disappointing that the government did not show political leadership, and use this funding reshuffle to end the roadbuilding that is driving traffic growth. With regional transport budgets being channelled away from public transport and into roadbuilding we will only see more car dependency and rising CO2 emissions. We are particulary disappointed the government did not reject outright the roads at Lancaster, Walsall, Stockport and Westbury. These schemes are now neither approved, nor rejected and are in limbo blighting the lives of local residents. The DfT should also have removed approval for the hugely destructive Weymouth Relief Road and the Mottram Tintwistle Bypass."

On Monday 3 July CPRE and Countryside Agency released a study which showed that new roads create more traffic, faster than is predicted [3]. Road Block says the government must learn the mistakes of past failed roadbuilding.

In a Written Statement, the Secretary of State for Transport Douglas Alexander announced the transport funding priorities for the English regions for the next 10 years. The announcements of the Regional Funding Allocations decide the new 10-year regional budgets for most non-motorway Highways Agency schemes and all local authority road schemes. Although inclusion in the list does not mean the schemes are sure to go-ahead, it gives them an elevated status.

The Department for Transport (DfT) issued the lists today, and the key results are:

New roads given go-ahead:

1. Waverley Link Road, Rotherham -
2. East Kent Access (Phase 2), Kent -
3. Beverley Southern Relief Road, Yorkshire
4. A130/A13 Sadlers Farm Junction, Essex
5. Taunton Northern Inner Distributor Road, Somerset
6. A4123/A461 Junction Improvement, Burnt Tree, Sandwell and Dudley
7. A1073 Spalding to Eye Improvement (Lincolnshire to Peterborough)
8. A47 Earl Shilton Bypass (Leicestershire)
9. A158 Burgh-Le-Marsh Bypass, Lincolnshire
10. A6096 Ilkeston Aweworth link road scheme, Derbyshire

New road schemes the government did not approve, but included in list, leaving 'in limbo':

1. Heysham-M6 Link (Lancaster Northern Bypass) - very controversial scheme, through Green Belt and will devastate local communities, bid not rejected outright
2. Brownhills Bypass in Walsall - destroys Green Belt land, and the tranquillity of Stonnall village, bid not rejected outright
3. SEMMS Relief Road (Stockport Bypass) - would destroy the peaceful Goyt Valley, bid not rejected outright
4. Norwich Northern Distributor Road - very damaging. Although no bid has gone to the government, they have included the scheme in the funding list
5. Westbury Bypass, Wiltshire - Although the scheme is not approved, they have included the scheme in the funding list. Very environmentally controversial
6. Kingskerswell Bypass, Devon - degrades beautiful Devon countryside, and rare bat habitats. Although no bid has gone to the government, they have included the scheme in the funding list
7. South Bristol Ring Road - no bid for funding, but included in list. Very environmentally controversial
8. Pleasley Bypass near Mansfield - not approved but in the list
9. Finningley and Rossington Route Scheme, Doncaster - not approved but in the list
9. Lincoln Eastern Bypass - not approved but in the list

Roads schemes government failed to reject, with provisional funding reconfirmed:

1. Weymouth Relief Road, Dorset - goes through Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, opposed by Countryside Agency
2. A628 Mottram to Tintwistle Bypass - which goes through the Peak District National Park and is widely opposed
3. Glossop Spur, Tameside - linked to the above scheme and will increase traffic in the National Park
3. Hastings to Bexhill Relief Road, East Sussex - damages Combe Haven SSSI nature reserve
4. A127/A1159 Priory Crescent scheme, Southend, Essex - will destroy Anglo-Saxon King's burial mound, said by the Museum of London to be of 'international importance'. Costs have risen from £3.5 million to £20 million.

Good news! Road schemes rejected:

1. Brunel Link and Harnham Relief Road (Salisbury Bypass) - approved in 2000, would have destroyed the famous watermeadows
2. Camelford Bypass, Cornwall - would have damaged a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and SSSI nature reserve, approval removed
3. St Austell - A30 Link Road - would have trashed beautiful Cornish countryside, approval removed
4. Rotherwas Access Road (Herefordshire) - bid for funding rejected
5. A684 Bedale-Aiskew-Leeming Bypass, Yorkshire - bid for funding rejected
6. A1 dualling schemes (Morpeth to Felton and Adderstone to Belford) - removed from Highways Agency programme (TPI)

Notes to Editors:

[1] The announcements are found here: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_localtrans/documents/divisionhomepage/611979.hcsp

[2] See http://transport2000.org.uk/news/maintainNewsArticles.asp?NewsArticleID=291

[3] Beyond Transport Infrastructure by Lilli Matson, Ian Taylor, Lynn Sloman and John Elliott, published by CPRE and the Countryside Agency (CA). The summary report is available on CPRE's website:
http://www.cpre.org.uk/resources/pub/pdfs/transport/road-transport/beyond-transport-infrastructure-summary.pdf
and on the CA's website at:
http://www.countryside.gov.uk/LAR/Landscape/PP/planning/Recent_Transport_Research_C.asp.