The Chancellor has cancelled additional road schemes amounting to over £1.3bn.
- Five major National Highways projects have been scrapped by Rachel Reeves.
- The cancellations follow previous cuts to the A27 Arundel bypass and A303 Stonehenge tunnel.
- Surviving infrastructure investments include the East West Rail and Trans Pennine upgrades.
- The decision aims to allocate resources to projects deemed more economically viable.
In a decisive move to reallocate resources more efficiently, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has announced the cancellation of five significant National Highways projects. These projects, cumulatively valued at over £1.3 billion, were assessed and deemed to be poor value for money, following previous cancellations of the A27 Arundel bypass and the A303 Stonehenge tunnel.
The projects scrapped under this new decision include the A5036 Princess Way – Port of Liverpool access road, which had an estimated cost of £335 million. Another significant project removed from the list is the A358 Taunton to Southfields, estimated at £500 million. Smaller projects, like the M27 J8 in Southampton and the A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout, valued at £50 million each, have also been abandoned. Additionally, the A1 Morpeth to Ellingham dualling project, with a budget of £390 million, has been cancelled. The latter project was notably one of the last actions of former transport secretary Mark Harper prior to the general election.
The decision to halt the development of the A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout comes as no surprise, as the work was previously paused. The recent completion of the Third River Crossing, also known as the Herring Bridge, has altered traffic patterns and reduced the significance of this roundabout as a bottleneck for the area.
While the axing of these road projects indicates a strategic shift, Chancellor Reeves has affirmed the continuation of key rail infrastructure development. The East West Rail project, linking Oxford, Milton Keynes, and Cambridge, remains on track, along with the Trans Pennine Upgrade, intended to enhance rail connectivity between York, Leeds, and Manchester. Moreover, funding clarity has been provided for the tunnel leading from Old Oak Common to Euston to ensure that high-speed rail services (HS2) will reach central London, although private investment will still be needed for the terminus at Euston.
Some road projects have managed to survive the budget reallocations, such as the ongoing efforts to dual sections of the A47 to improve links between East Anglia and the north. Additionally, work on the A57, aiming to enhance travel times between Sheffield and Greater Manchester, is set to commence in the coming weeks.
The UK’s transportation landscape is being redefined as funds are strategically redirected toward projects with greater economic promise.
