Senior transport officers are expected to raise concerns about the fate of local major schemes, as a result of regional prioritisation and other government funding changes, when MPs begin an inquiry into the local transport plan system later this month.
The Commons transport committee plans to investigate issues such as how major and smaller schemes have fared, whether authorities need more powers to raise their own money for transport infrastructure, and how successful the new system of mainly formula-based capital funding has been.
There is disquiet over the impact regional prioritisation is having on local projects, with costly trunk road schemes in some areas threatening to absorb all available funding for several years.
Some officers are worried that authorities may struggle to fund at least 10% of the cost of all major schemes locally
The CSS is also disturbed that revenue support for investment in integrated transport schemes and capitalised highway maintenance is no longer guaranteed.
Vice-president, ~John Deegan~ said local funds were constrained by council tax capping and he knew of one county which had been forced to cut £5M of capitalised maintenance from its budget because it no longer had the revenue support to meet debt charges. ‘This problem is likely to affect all highway authorities next year, unless something is done,’ he said.