The Petition of residents of the Kingswood constituency,
Declares that an “M4 link road” near Emersons Green would help to reduce congestion on the M4 from the Kingswood area; that such a road would reduce journey distances by residents by a significant distance and thereby reduce pollution; and that a link road would also help to boost the local economy and help to create local jobs.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to consider the construction of a link road between the M4 and the Avon ring road (A4174).
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Chris Skidmore, Official Report, 26 April 2012; Vol. 543, c. 1208.]
[P001024]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Transport:
The Government have set out their plans for future investment for the strategic road network as part of the outcomes of the Government’s 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review in October 2010. The Government also announced the list of local major transport schemes that will be funded in this spending review period on 29 November and 14 December 2011.
Proposals for an M4 link road were not included in such plans given that a funding proposition had not been previously made to Government. No new local transport schemes will now be considered for funding before 2015.
The Government are considering a new system for prioritising and funding local major schemes after 2015, in particular, whether funding should be devolved so that decisions can be made at a more local level. A consultation describing how this system might work (https://consultation.dft.gov.uk/dft/2012-04) was launched on 31 January 2012. This consultation has now closed and we are considering the responses.
For local schemes such as this, that can unlock employment and housing development, we would expect Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to consider a range of funding sources including private sector contributions.
The Government have provided £770 million for the Growing Places Fund which aims to set up revolving local funds to address infrastructure constraints, promote economic growth and the delivery of jobs and houses, as well as planned new flexibilities open to Local Authorities such as Community Infrastructure Levy and Business Rate Retention.