Local transport networks are set to be a key beneficiary of a new National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIR) announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond in his Autumn Statement today.

This fund will see £23Bn spent in the areas of transport, housing, digital communications and research & development over the next five years, the Chancellor told the House of Commons. “Reliable transport networks are essential to growth and productivity,” he said.

As part of the NPIR it was confirmed today that the Government will provide an additional £1.1Bn in funding to relieve congestion and deliver upgrades on English local roads and transport networks by 2020-21. “Small investments can offer big wins” on these local networks, the Chancellor commented.

He added that on strategic roads an extra £220M will be invested to tackle pinch points, while on the rail network £450M will go towards trialling digital signalling technology. The Chancellor said this rail investment would achieve a step change in reliability and “squeeze more capacity out of our existing rail infrastructure”.

CIHT Chief Executive Sue Percy commented: “Today’s Autumn Statement has shown reliable, safe transport systems and infrastructure are essential for the UK’s economic growth.

“We welcome the announcement that between 1-1.2% of GDP will be spent on economic infrastructure from 2020 and this indicates a certainty of investment that CIHT has been calling for.”

Philip Hammond has also backed the National Infrastructure Commission’s recent interim recommendations on the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor and committed £27M in development funding for a road ‘expressway’ between the cities today.

Furthermore he announced that the Government will bring forward £100M to accelerate construction of the East West Rail project in the region, which will eventually restore the Varsity Line.

Sue Percy added: “CIHT will be looking to work with the National Infrastructure Commission to support their recommendations for economic infrastructure. Through this activity we will highlight how this can unlock productivity benefits for the highways and transportation infrastructure sector.”

She said: “CIHT will be reviewing the Autumn Statement in more detail and provide more detailed analysis to members in due course.”

The Autumn Statement also confirms that construction of High Speed 2 Phase 1 will start next year, and says the Department for Transport will continue to work with Transport for the North to develop detailed options for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

(Photo courtesy of Manish Prabhune and licenced for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)