Official Project Partner: Midlands Connect
England’s four Sub-national Transport Bodies (STBs) has called for the Government to work more closely with them to help define the new Major Road Network (MRN).
In an unprecedented joint response, Midlands Connect, Transport for the North, England’s Economic Heartland and Transport for the South East, have written to Roads Minister Jesse Norman about the Department for Transport’s Major Road Network (MRN) consultation.
The bodies describe the MRN as a ‘landmark and critical opportunity’ to drive economic growth across the country, and urge the Government to ensure there is an integrated role for the STBs in its definition and implementation.
The government has proposed more funding for key ‘A’ roads that are managed by local transport authorities, however, the plans will keep the MRN separate from the Strategic Road Network, and there would also be restrictions on what types of schemes would be eligible for funding.
The STBs argue that investment in Highways England’s roads and the more significant local authority roads should be taken forward as a single programme, and that specific eligibility criteria should be removed.
Six recommendations have been made by the STBs:
- Work with nascent Sub-national Transport Bodies (STBs) to define the Major Road Network.
- Plan and invest in the MRN as a single network.
- Identify indicative, long-term, regional funding levels to incentivise an effective pipeline of improvements planned.
- Investment should focus on outcomes for road users, but disagree with the eligibility criteria which could limit the holistic view the MRN is seeking to enable.
- STBs should provide a reporting and monitoring role.
- The DfT should clarify the long-term role STBs can offer in any further announcements on the MRN.
Sir John Peace, Chairman of Midlands Connect, said: “Our Midlands-wide partnership has a deep understanding of the transport and economic priorities of our region. It’s therefore vital that the DfT proactively involves Sub-national Transport Bodies in the final decisions around what is defined as part of the Major Road Network. Midlands Connect’s response to this consultation has involved an unprecedented level of collaboration with our local transport authority partners to identify an MRN that maximises the benefits to road users and harnesses the potential for huge economic growth that road improvements can unlock across the region. We are ready to act as a vital bridge between local and central government to transform investment in our roads.”
John Cridland, Chairman of Transport for the North, said: “Our nineteen local and combined authority partners and eleven Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) members represent the whole of the North of England, working together to speak with a united voice on the transport infrastructure investment needed to drive economic growth in the region. Together we have agreed on a Major Roads Network of the North, recognising the strategic and local roads which are vital for future prosperity and which enable multimodal connections between road, rail and international gateways.
“We are now joining with our STB partners from around England to call for our expertise and local knowledge to be recognised in the development of England’s Major Road Network, to ensure that the seamless network adequately reflects all the roads which are vital for our country’s economy, both now and in the future.”
Transport for the North will become the first statutory Sub-national Transport Body on April 1st, giving it legal status to advise Government on transport funding. Ministers have shown their commitment to creating additional STBs, with Midlands Connect, England’s Economic Heartland and Transport for the South East all declaring their intention to submit proposals to Government.
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