A1: Peterborough to Blyth

Gareth Davies Excerpts

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Westminster Hall

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

I thank my neighbour and hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alicia Kearns) for securing this debate on one of the top issues that has plagued my area for many years. Since my selection in July 2019, it has probably been one of the top three issues I hear about on doorsteps whenever I am out and about. It is important to my constituents not just because the A1 is a key arterial strategic road for my constituency, but because it is a key arterial road for our entire country. As my hon. Friend pointed out, there are incredible economic benefits to seeing improvements on this road. I want to focus on two aspects that are very specific to Grantham and Stamford.

There are clearly issues, as my hon. Friend has said. Almost daily, there are news reports that there has been a bump, a scrape or a serious accident. That has a knock-on impact on our villages, causing congestion and diverting valuable Lincolnshire Police resource away from fighting crime. People just want to get around the place—they want to get to work; they want to get to school—safely and without delay.

Last June, I conducted a survey of Colsterworth village, which is right on the edge of the A1. The message from constituents was clear: all of them felt unsafe, but they were very clear about two issues that they would like fixed. First, we have some of the shortest slip roads in the country. Secondly, we have deathtrap crossovers that are an absolute nightmare when there are long vehicles trying to cross four lanes on a 70-mile-an-hour road. That is not to say that we should not be ambitious and look in the long term to create a three-lane A1(M) on my stretch of the A1, but my constituents were clear that they want action now on what are, frankly, pretty minor improvements.

Who is responsible? It is not actually Ministers—Ministers have provided significant funding to Highways England, which is the body responsible. There are two funding pots of note—RIS2 funding, which my hon. Friend mentioned, of £27 billion or thereabouts for strategic road improvements over a long period, such as those my hon. Friend mentioned; and the £936 million designated funds pot. That funding pot is critical to what we are talking about today, as it is specifically for safety and congestion measures, to tackle things like the crossovers and the length of slip roads.

Significant funding has been given to Highways England, and it is the internal bureaucracy of that organisation that is holding up the safety improvements that the people of Grantham and Stamford really want and need. I ask two things of the Minister today. It cannot be right that Highways England applies the same internal process to approve small funding amounts for minor improvements as for multibillion-pound upgrades to the A1. Different processes are needed for the different types of upgrades we are talking about, specific to the designated fund pot. It is crackers that there is a blanket process, despite massive changes and deliverable timelines for the improvements.

Secondly, could there be a threshold that Government can apply to National Highways to say that, if it is about bumps and scrapes and closing crossovers and slipovers, we can have an expedited process as part of designated funds? I urge the Minister to look at National Highways and its internal bureaucracy, because that is what is causing the most angst to my constituents.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Trudy Harrison)]

It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Nokes. I would like to start by commending my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alicia Kearns), not just for this debate but for founding and chairing the working group of MPs to improve the A1. We have heard today how important and historic the A1 is, particularly for the midlands. We have also heard eloquently described how vital the midlands are, particularly the east midlands, for the UK and its prosperity.

It is a pleasure to respond to the points raised during today’s debate, and I am grateful that the debate was secured as it gives me an opportunity to provide an update on some of the priorities in the short term. I have also heard loud and clear from Members today about the long-term aim of full motorway status. I am not the roads Minister, but I know that the roads Minister in the other place, Baroness Vere of Norbiton, is very willing to meet with Members to discuss this in more detail. She will also be keen to discuss some of the challenges that I have heard regarding National Highways, and the bureaucracy that has been referred to, the expediting request and a proportionality request for schemes to be treated in different ways. I will endeavour to make sure that meeting does happen.

The A1 is one of the country’s vital north-south links; it plays such an important part in the way that people and goods move around the country. I know that my right hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick), through his previous role as communities Secretary, understands the importance of good infrastructure and roads for the prosperity of our communities. It was good to hear him speak on this important matter for his constituency.

Between 2020 and 2025 we are spending £24 billion on the strategic road network. The core principle in the road investment strategy is to create exactly what has been called for today: a road network that is safe, reliable and efficient for everyone, and sets a long term strategic vision. I commend the A1 working group for aligning with that aspiration, because transport connectivity is not just local and regional—it is important for the whole of the United Kingdom. The Government are aware of the economic case for upgrading the road network for the entirety of the UK and its economy.

Investment in our strategic road network is focused on the network as a whole, and how various roads interact to provide a reliable network for all users. Some of the schemes we are committed to will have a positive impact on the A1 around the east midlands, and enhance the experience of road users. Those road improvements will provide better links to the A1 and improve the resilience of the network, while boosting business productivity and economic growth by providing a much more reliable road network and improved local access. I have heard much today about the right turns; I understand that that is part of the key priorities in the short to medium term. The reliability of journey times on the strategic road network is particularly important for all road users. While road users recognise that incidents happen, they also expect them to be cleared as soon as possible, and the frequency of incidents to be minimised.

National Highways regularly undertakes route safety studies across the network; the most recent study of the A1 in the midlands was conducted in September 2020. This included a review of the personal injuries, collisions and casualties recorded on this part of the network. As well as fulfilling an important monitoring purpose, the information is used to identify potential sites for safety improvement schemes. National Highways is also looking at 14 more potential safety schemes between Peterborough and Blyth.

[Gareth Davies]

I have remembered something that I did not include in my speech. My hon. Friend the Member for Blyth Valley (Ian Levy) could not be here today because he is dealing with a matter in his constituency. He wanted me to relay his concerns on this as well.

[Trudy Harrison]

I thank my hon. Friend for relaying that. My hon. Friend the Member for Blyth Valley (Ian Levy) spoke to me earlier this week ahead of this debate. I know he would like to be here because this is a debate about the area between Peterborough and Blyth, which I know he is incredibly passionate about and works hard to improve. He and I have had that conversation, and I expect that he will want to join the meeting with Baroness Vere.

I briefly talked about the 40 more potential safety schemes between Peterborough and Blyth, which include the junctions near Colsterworth, Little Ponton, Barrowby and North Muskham, among others. I firmly believe that good transport is a catalyst for enterprise and growth. Better connectivity means greater economic opportunity and all the benefits that that brings to communities.

I acknowledge that the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton is passionate about investment in the east midlands, so I want to turn to some of our wider plans for transport in the region, in addition to the work on the A1. She referred to levelling up and to the benefit that the UK appreciates from the east midlands, mentioning the fantastic food economy that is flourishing in the area. Levelling up all parts of our United Kingdom is at the centre of the Government’s agenda and as we build back better from the pandemic, we will publish our levelling-up White Paper setting out new and bold policy interventions, giving local control to drive economic recovery. Transport is key to that, and that has been explained by Members today. The Government understand and are prioritising that.

We are investing in transport across the east midlands: in its cities, towns, villages and everywhere in between. We are investing in the key local roads that people and businesses rely on, providing £50 million towards the recently opened Lincoln eastern bypass. Through the levelling-up fund, another £50 million has been allocated for access roads to the South Derby growth zone and Infinity Garden Village. In Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, we are supporting the county councils to trial on-demand bus services, improving connections for people in rural and suburban areas. We are seeing investment from the transforming cities fund start to take shape. It includes a brilliant new e-bike hire scheme in Leicester, as well as plans for an iconic new foot and cycle bridge over the River Trent in Nottingham.

We believe, and I know Members here believe, that better transport connectivity will create new and exciting opportunities for all places, helping them realise their full potential. As we look to the future, we have taken significant steps in planning future improvements to the National Highways network. We have just finished the formal evidence-gathering phase of the third round of route strategies, which are an important input alongside strategic studies, informing decisions about investment on the strategic road network beyond 2025. My right hon. Friend the Member for Newark asked a specific question on the timeframe, and I will endeavour to write to him with that answer.

National Highways will publish the results of the route strategies in its strategic road network initial report later this year. Shortly after that, the Department for Transport will then consult on the SRN initial report and proposals for the draft road investment strategy. I am excited by the potential of the east midlands, particularly given the ambition of MPs, as we have heard today, and bodies such as Transport for the East Midlands and Midlands Connect, working alongside national partners. The way in which my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton consistently and effectively campaigns for her area is testament to the benefits we are going to see in the east midlands.

I will finish by reaffirming my thanks to colleagues for this insightful debate. I hope my hon. Friend is satisfied by my responses and the meeting that she will be able to have with the roads Minister to discuss the matters in more detail, and possibly with National Highways as well, as it is a critical delivery partner. I hope I have made it clear that we recognise the vital importance of not just the A1 but the entirety of the strategic road network and the wider needs of the east midlands. I thank colleagues for their enthusiasm for the east midlands and their effective campaigning for better transport connectivity.

Question put and agreed to.