UK road infrastructure projects worth £700 million cancelled to pay for drones
Starmer says axing projects such as the A46 Newark bypass are the “necessary choice”
Selected road infrastructure projects across the UK are set to be canned as a means to pay for the nation’s new Defence Investment Plan. A reduction in scope for the Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3) announced earlier this year will contribute £700million towards boosting expenditure for the British armed forces in an era of often hostile foreign relations.
In one of his final big announcements as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Some capital projects – for example on roads and energy, which are important, but not immediately vital – will no longer go ahead as planned.”
The Labour leader, who resigned following poor local election performance and several ministerial resignations, defended the decision, calling it a “necessary choice”. This has increased the overall investment from £14 to £15billion, although it’s still nowhere near the £28billion requested by ex-defence secretary, John Healey, who quit over the plan. Overall, UK military spending is expected to hit “almost £80billion" per year by 2029.
So which road projects will be impacted? Nothing has been finalised, however, the Government has announced that the Department for Transport will consult on cancelling the A38 Derby junctions and A46 Newark bypass schemes, both of which are yet to reach the contractual stage. It’s possible that even more road plans could be axed, too – particularly those with uncommitted funding.
To raise extra funds, No.10 has also asked Government departments to contribute 1p in every £1 of their capital budgets. As to whether the reduction in funding will result in further deterioration of Britain’s roads, HM Treasury says the Government “remains committed to protecting funding for local authorities to mend potholes and repair their roads”.
David Giles, chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), said: “It is disappointing that capital funding for new road projects looks set to be cut, but it is vital that the Government honours the pledge made today to protect funding for local authorities to carry out much-needed road maintenance and pothole repairs.
“We understand that in an increasingly challenging world tough public funding decisions must be made,” Giles added. “However, local roads in England and Wales are already in a woeful condition and face a backlog of repairs that now stands at a whopping £18.62billion.”
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