Many transport consultants and their clients will have paid close attention to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ recent speech at Siemens in North Oxfordshire, in which she outlined the UK Government’s reforms aimed at driving investment and growth.
In front of an audience of business chiefs, Ms Reeves referred to a number of projects around England. She signalled the Government’s backing for a third runway at Heathrow, the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, and delivery of the Lower Thames Crossing.
Also mentioned in the Chancellor’s speech was the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, which the Government has described as “a centre of innovation which could become Europe’s answer to Silicon Valley.” The Treasury stated that this notional arc of agricultural and urban land would benefit from a “new approach” helmed by Sir Patrick Vallance as a Ministerial Champion.
Concerns raised by both the CIHT and the CCC on sustainability
The Government has said that the Heathrow Airport expansion “must be delivered in line with the UK’s legal, environmental, and climate obligations.”
Another entity that has been vocal about the need for sustainability to be a central element of such ambitious growth plans, is the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT).
The charity said that while it welcomed the Government’s dedication to growth – with investment in transport infrastructure necessarily forming an “intrinsic part” of any such commitment – the organisation “believes that this growth must be sustainably delivered.”
Indeed, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) – which advises the UK Government on emissions reduction – has recommended that the airport’s expansion should not proceed until a UK-wide capacity management framework is in place to assess and potentially control the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the aviation sector.
The CIHT highlighted and endorsed this stance of the CCC. It urged the Department for Transport (DfT) to work with the UK’s devolved administrations to put together a framework showing how the emissions generated from additional Heathrow flights can be accommodated without the UK’s carbon budgets being broken.
Emphasis urged on the importance of Net Zero and “transport networks that work for all”
In the CIHT’s words, “the support for an expansion of Heathrow must be consistent with a credible pathway to Net Zero by 2050.”
The organisation said it would be submitting a response to the consultation for the second phase of the Government’s Spending Review, adding that it “welcomes the opportunity to be part of the governmental decision-making process.”
The charity further stated that it “looks forward to continuing to engage and work with the Treasury and Department for Transport, working to create transport networks that work for all, without compromising on the Net Zero agenda.”
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