Key transport projects saved
Six key transport projects have been saved from the spending cuts axe, news which has been welcomed by the Freight Transport Authority (FTA) and will benefit freight and logistics firms.
The Department for Transport assured motorists that nine motorway and trunk road schemes would go ahead as planned despite the reduction in funding following the spending review, with six of these having been highlighted by the FTA as “vital trade routes”.
It said the schemes are essential to the UK’s economic future and should not be seen as an optional extra..
The announcement from transport minister Philip Hammond that the schemes are a key driver for growth and that priority trade routes would be saved is “very welcome”, said FTA managing director of policy and communications James Hookham.
“We do, however, remain concerned that the Strategic Freight Network has yet to be mentioned in any form by the government, with a potential delay announcing its future possible until next spring when the McNulty Value for Money study is published,” Mr Hookham added.
The schemes that have been saved are; M60 Junctions 8-12, M1 Junctions 32-35a, M60 Junctions 12-15, M1 Junctions 39-42, M62 Junctions 18-20, M25 Junctions 5-6/7, M25 Junctions 23-27, M6 Junctions 5-8 and A556 Knutsford-Bowdon.
Chancellor George Osborne has also safeguarded aspects of the country’s transport network,, announcing in October that the sector will receive a £30 billion investment in capital spending over the next four years.
“For future growth to happen infrastructure is not an optional extra but an absolute essential,” Mr Hookham commented.
