The Transport Action Network claims the strategy – which is set to see £27Bn spent on motorways and major A roads over the next five years – will make it harder for the UK to meet binding climate change and air pollution targets.

It argues that the Department for Transport did not take into account the Government’s target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 before publishing the strategy, or consider whether it aligns with the Paris Agreement.

The judicial review application comes following a recent Court of Appeal ruling that the Government’s decision to allow the expansion of Heathrow Airport was unlawful on climate change grounds.

“Air pollution has breached legal limits for over a decade while greenhouse gas emissions from transport have barely changed since 1990,” said the Transport Action Network’s local campaigns support officer Rebecca Lush, adding that “urgent action” cannot be put off any longer.

“The Department for Transport has been unable to kick its addiction to road building. Only a resounding defeat in the courts can shake it out of its complacency now,” she added. The group also argues that the planned investment could be better spent on tackling the maintenance backlog on local roads and delivering more sustainable travel alternatives.

Under current plans, RIS2 would involve up to 50 road projects being in construction over the next two years, and includes major schemes such as the Lower Thames Crossing, the A3030 Stonehenge tunnel and dualling of the A66 trans-Pennine route.

If permission for a judicial review is granted, the case would be heard in the High Court in the autumn.

The Department for Transport said it would not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

(Photograph: Highways England)