Early indications show that major road schemes are prominent in local transport plans for 2006 – 2011, across England.
This comes despite advice from government offices and LTP guidance indicating that significant funding for major schemes is not likely to be available, and schemes such as village bypasses not providing significant congestion reduction and road safety benefits are unlikely to be approved.
Based on provisional LTPs available to date, major road schemes costing £5M or more are set to be submitted by county councils around the country, including Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, Shropshire, Oxfordshire, Durham, Cambridgeshire, Lancashire, Essex, Northumberland and Kent. Further bids are likely elsewhere.
Northamptonshire County Council is to continue pressing for final backing of three provisionally-approved road schemes – on sections of the A43 and A509 – and will assess 11 possible new road schemes. It has also bid for improvements under the £200M community infrastructure fund.
North Yorkshire County Council is to bid for four major road schemes on both accessibility and congestion reduction grounds: an A684 bypass of Bedale; a diversion of the A59, which is at risk of landslides; and two schemes to close level crossings.
Shropshire County Council is considering bidding for a northern relief road for Shrewsbury which would include a new river crossing, that is likely to cost £40M, in order to reduce congestion.
Durham has three major road schemes costing £30M in total, including a northern relief road of its cathedral city; Lancashire plans a Heysham to M6 link, as well as a revised bid for upgrading Blackpool’s tramway; and Cambridgeshire proposes a southern bypass of Ely as well as a guided busway to St Ives.
Plans elsewhere were not finalised as Surveyor went to press, but Lincolnshire will consider whether or not new bypasses or relief roads are needed; Buckinghamshire will introduce new capacity ‘where other measures are not sufficient to tackle congestion’; Gloucestershire is to submit a major scheme bid for a package to cut congestion in Cheltenham and Gloucester; and Dorset wants to improve routes to the rest of the Southwest and Southeast England, and build a new link to Bournemouth International Airport.
But some authorities have been deterred by LTP guidance and discussions with government offices. Worcestershire says it will not bring forward major schemes, although it will consider projects for post-2011; while Cumbria although interested in three road schemes, including a northern relief road for Kendal, says that none of these would be implemented by 2011.
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