Word games

The 130-page Government document published today, which includes the full Queen's Speech, uses the word 'roads' (in the sense of road-building) just once. The new code word from the Conservatives is 'infrastructure', which appears 46 times.

It says one bit of HS2 Phase 2 will definitely go ahead, from Lichfield to Crewe. This will cut the fastest (and most expensive) service from London to Crewe from 90 minutes to 55 minutes.

Crewe has a population of just over 70,000. The railway is the biggest employer; the town is also home to the HQ of Bargain Booze and a manufacturer of ice-cream vans.

Working together.....

Transport for the South East are launching their first draft strategy, with Rupert Clubb at the podium. Note the sponsors of the event.

WSP, transport consultants, have taken the largest slice of the £3m set aside by former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, to make the case for a new off-line dual carriageway between Lewes and Polegate.

Bosch are the biggest makers of car parts in the world.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the largest hire car company in the world, judged by fleet (2 million vehicles) and revenue.

On or off ?

At the end of June, we reported the written words of Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes, on the A27 between Lewes and Polegate "I have made clear that I would like to see any funding to dual the existing road and improve access for all road users and not for a new road as some in Eastbourne would like".

Though Maria is currently PPS to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, it's still not confirmed that a formal bid has been made to the Department for Transport to fund such a scheme.

In a masterfully-opaque response to a Freedom of Information enquiry, Mahmood Azam of Highways England says their strategic outline business case was present to the Government at the end of January.

"While the study considered off-line improvements which included small sections of online widening, it did not produce cost estimates or benefit cost ratios for an intervention to dual the existing A27 between Lewes and Polegate, or for an intervention which involved only online improvements to the existing A27 on its current route. "

Setting

A couple of hopeful paragraphs from Julian Glover's review of UK landscapes for the Government.

"Our central proposal is to bring National Parks and AONBs together as part of one family of national landscapes, served by a shared National Landscapes Service (NLS) which will give them a bigger voice, bigger ambition and a new way of working to meet new challenges.

We also think what are now AONBs should be strengthened, with increased funding, governance
reform, new shared purposes with National Parks, and a greater voice on development. We think the current cumbersome title ‘AONB’ should be replaced. Our suggestion is that they should be called National Landscapes.

We would also like to see the encouragement of a wider range of non‑designated systems of landscape protection, which should be members of the national landscapes family and served by the NLS."

Up to speed

I wanted to check that the Department for Transport knew that Maria Caulfield MP had changed her mind about the A27, and now wants funds to be spent on improving the existing road between Lewes and Polegate. I wrote before Ms Caulfield got a job at the Department, but it's good to know that the civil servants analysing new projects know what she thinks....

Dear Mr Rogers

A27 East of Lewes

Thank you for your email of 8 August asking if the Department is aware of the views expressed by Maria Caulfield MP regarding potential offline and on route options for enhancement of the A27 between Lewes and Polegate. 

I am happy to confirm that we are aware of the MP’s comments on this topic as reported in the local press.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Read-Leah
Road Investment Strategy Futures Division

Maria from the Ministry

Another from the You-Couldn't-Make-It-Up Department of Politics.

Delighted to have been appointed PPS to the Transport Secretary @grantshapps . Lots to do to prepare for leaving the EU on 31st October, but also to improve passenger experience on all forms of public transport .

— Maria Caulfield MP (@mariacaulfield) August 5, 2019

Pop pickers

The non-elected shadow group "Transport for the South East", led by Rupert Clubb (above), has submitted its own list of priority schemes for major roads in the area, bidding for a share of a £3.5bn pot.

The problem is that TfSE is a shadow body, going through the early stages of public consultation about basic strategy and mission, and there's been no public consultation on these "Top Ten", and certainly no involvement from you and me in 'shortlisting': "Shortlisted schemes for the South East were assessed against a range of national criteria as well as Transport for the South East’s strategic objectives for the region, which focus on sustainable economic growth, improved quality of life and the environment."

If this new body really cared about the environment, do you think they should be so excited about their favourite roads ?