CIHT comments on Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement
CIHT welcomes the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement committing further investment to the UK’s transport infrastructure. A fully functioning transport infrastructure is essential to underpinning a successful economy and has been at the forefront of CIHT’s vision for a prosperous economic future for the UK.
Sue Percy, CIHT Chief Executive said:
“Transport infrastructure plays a vital role across the whole spectrum of society and impacts on both economic and social development. A balanced long-term investment programme that focuses on transport infrastructure will retain and create jobs and provide a major catalyst for sustained economic recovery and growth of the nation.”
“The funding and delivery of UK infrastructure needs to change to ensure that the infrastructure necessary for the UK to compete globally is in place, planned and improved over the short, medium and longer term. The National Infrastructure Plan 2011 stated that almost two thirds of expected investment between 2011 & 2015 will be privately funded and the remainder will be either partially or fully publicly funded.”
The key points announced today included:
· The cancellation of the 3p fuel duty increase that was planned for 1 January 2013.
· £1 billion of borrowing from the UK Guarantees Scheme to extend the Northern Line to Battersea, to enable the commercial redevelopment of Battersea Power Station and the surrounding site.
· Investment of an additional £1.5 billion, of which £1 billion will be invested within this spending review period, to enhance and improve the road network and reduce congestion. Including;
· Investing £378 million to upgrade key sections of the A1 (Lobley Hill and Leeming to Barton) in the north east, bringing this route from the M25 to Newcastle up to motorway standard;
· Expanding capacity through building a new link between the A5 and M1 in the east of England and dualling the A30 Temple to Carblake in the south west, an investment of £157 million;
· Tackling congestion with £150 million of investment for improvement works to Junction 30 of the M25 in London starting in 2015 and £10 million, funded from within the Department for Transport’s existing budget, on improvement works at Junction 12 of the M40 in the west midlands, starting in 2013;
· Providing £270 million for priority national and local projects to remove bottlenecks and support development;
· Investing an additional £333 million in the essential maintenance of our national and local road network to renew, repair and extend the life of our roads;
· Investing £42 million to develop the pipeline of potential Highways Agency road schemes for investment in the next spending review period; and
· £42 million investment in the Sustainable Transport Fund for cycling infrastructure, including cycling safety.
· The Government will pilot a new delivery model for upgrades to the M1, M3, M6 and the A160/180 at Immingham, to speed up the delivery of major road schemes in the future.
CIHT have noted that there have been a number of proposals with regards to privately financing infrastructure but issues still remain. CIHT will review the associated document published with the Autumn Statement on Private Finance 2 and comment further on its proposals and the implications to our sector early next week.
Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation
CIHT is a membership organisation representing over 12,000 people who work in the highways and transportation sector.
CIHT members plan, design, build, operate and maintain best-in-class transport systems and infrastructure, whilst respecting the imperatives of improving safety, ensuring economic competitiveness and minimising environmental impact.
CIHT supports its member’s professional endeavours by:
• offering training, information, professional development and support
• promoting the value added to society by the profession
• being the focused voice to Governments and other decision makers on transportation expertise and knowledge.
For more information please contact:
Daniel Isichei, Director of Communications
t: +44 (0) 20 7336 1567 m: 07912122573 e: Daniel.Isichei@ciht.org.uk
www.ciht.org.uk
Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation
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CIHT is a charity registered in England (1136896) and Scotland (SC040873)
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