The Department for Transport (DfT) has a £3.5bn national fund available from 2020-2025. The Midlands wants £596m to enable construction of its 11 priority schemes to begin during that period.
The national fund covers upgrades to the major road network (MRN), a new category of the busiest and most economically important local authority A roads. The MRN was established by the government to focus on funding schemes that will reduce congestion, support housing and employment growth, and provide better links to motorways and trunk roads.
The £3.5bn government fund also includes ‘large local majors’ (LLM) schemes, which focus on bigger upgrades to local roads.
Following consultation and assessment, Midlands Connect has submitted seven priority MRN schemes and four LLM schemes to the DfT for consideration.
Midlands Connect has asked the government to fund £596m of the total £739m estimated cost of the submitted schemes, with the remaining £143m to be funded locally from a mixture of public and private sector sources. If successful, local authorities would deliver the projects.
The schemes include new bypasses, widening roads, improving junctions and roundabouts, new links between existing stretches of road and better pedestrian and cycling facilities. The 11 submitted priority schemes are:
| Major Road Network | |
|---|---|
| Scheme Name | Local Highway Authority |
| A4123 Birchley Island, Sandwell | Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council |
| A38 Bromsgrove Route Enhancement Programme, Worcestershire | Worcestershire County Council |
| A426/A4071 Avon Mill/Hunters Lane Improvements, Warwickshire | Warwickshire County Council |
| Queensway Link, Telford | Telford & Wrekin Council |
| A511 Growth Corridor, Coalville | Leicestershire County Council |
| A454 between Wolverhampton and East Park Gateway | Wolverhampton City Council |
| A45/Coventry Road/Damson Parkway Junction, Solihull | Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council |
|
Large Local Majors |
|
|---|---|
| Scheme Name | Local Highway Authority |
| North Hykeham Relief Road | Lincolnshire County Council |
| Chesterfield-Staveley Regeneration Route | Derbyshire County Council |
| City East Link Road | Stoke-on-Trent City Council |
| Hereford Bypass | Herefordshire County Council |
An eighth MRN scheme, A614 Ollerton to Lowdham improvements in Nottinghamshire, has already received a funding commitment of £18m from the government, announced in October 2018.
Simon Statham, head of technical programmes at Midlands Connect, said: “A reliable transport network is essential to the success of the Midlands. The major road network targets funding specifically at schemes that help improve job opportunities, open up new housing developments, and importantly address our environmental obligations as well. Objectives for the funding include understanding how a scheme will create improvements for all road users, not just cars, and improve air quality by reducing congestion.
“By speaking with a collective voice on behalf of the Midlands, we believe each of the schemes submitted has provided all the evidence the government needs to fund them in full, and we expect to be celebrating a £600m investment in to the region to help our local authorities get on and deliver this transformational programme of upgrades.”
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