£1.34 a head is all we get for our roads

Apr 20 2006 By Zoe Hughes Political Editor, The Journal

The Government was accused of trying to "paper over the cracks" of the North-East's congestion problems yesterday - after figures revealed they are spending just £1.34 for each person in Tyne and Wear on new roads this year.

As transport chiefs attempt to block vital developments in the region because of fears over growing congestion, new figures uncovered by The Journal show how much the Government is planning to spend on new roads.

The Tyne and Wear figure comes in marked contrast to Cumbrian residents who are expected to enjoy £251.62 each with plans for a major new road development. And in the South road spending figures are among some of the highest levels in the country - with Hertfordshire getting £98.41 per head and Kent £83.37.

The figures were released in a parliamentary answer by Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman. However, business leaders warned the level of investment would only "ever paper over the cracks of a jaded road network".

Andrew Sugden, policy director of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, which together with The Journal and our sister paper the Evening Gazette is campaigning for more investment in roads in the region, said the statistics showed transport officials were tinkering at the edges of the North-East's traffic problems "rather than paying to upgrade key routes to the level needed for a 21st Century economy."

The Go For Jobs campaign has called on ministers not to delay any further the upgrades to the A1 and A19, to build an extra lane on the Western bypass and to give Newcastle and Gateshead a comparable transport link to other major UK cities.

However, a spokesman for the Department for Transport said more than £570m had been invested in local transport in the North-East over the past five years. "In Tyne and Wear alone, the local transport block funding has gone up 73% in real terms over the last five years increasing from £16.5m in 2000/01 to £31.4m 2005/2006," he said.

According to the official figures, residents in Tyne and Wear will benefit from just £1.34 per head on new road spending during 2006/07 compared with £14.78 per head in 2005/06 and £4.37 in 2004/05.

Cumbria, however, comes in at first place during 2006/07 with £251.62 per head being spent on new projects. In 2004/05 and 2005/06, Cumbria received £2.24 and £20.23 per head respectively.

The figures cover only 34 authorities where major road developments costing over £5m are taking place, with the Department for Transport saying some councils are not set to benefit at all.

Stockton, though, is one area in the North-East expected to receive additional cash for road building in the next year, with the Highways Agency set to spend £51.72 per head during 2006/07 compared to Durham's £12.90 and Northumberland's £8.72.

MPs on the influential Commons Transport Committee - which includes Tyne Bridge's David Clelland - have already announced an inquiry into transport funding to local councils.

However, Hugh Morgan Williams, chairman of the Washington-based Canford group and CBI small business spokesman, said the Government had to change the way it paid for road improvements all together.