UK government plans to cut motorway red tape

The UK government has launched a six-week consultation in an effort to help reduce barriers around unnecessary regulations on England’s motorways and major A roads. It is hoped that the new Highways Agency (HA) developments will remove bureaucracy while putting more power in the hands of local communities and their representatives. The planned changes place greater emphasis on its role to promote economic growth and enable development. Key changes proposed include: easing restrictions for developers on new
February 13, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The UK government has launched a six-week consultation in an effort to help reduce barriers around unnecessary regulations on England’s motorways and major A roads.

It is hoped that the new 503 Highways Agency (HA) developments will remove bureaucracy while putting more power in the hands of local communities and their representatives.

The planned changes place greater emphasis on its role to promote economic growth and enable development. Key changes proposed include: easing restrictions for developers on new access roads and junctions on motorways; removing requirements for developers to fund mitigation measures unless the impacts of their proposals are severe; simplifying the requirements for service areas; protecting the essential safety and comfort of motorists, while leaving other issues to be decided by local planning and market forces; removing minimum spacing restrictions for service areas, to create greater competition and customer choice.

Announcing the consultation, Roads Minister Stephen Hammond said, “We want to encourage economic growth, while reducing bureaucracy for businesses and local communities.  I hope that local authorities and private developers will take the time to give us their views on our proposals for cutting unnecessary red tape and make planning decisions easier and quicker for all involved.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • FTA disappointed at Dartford free-flow toll delay
    September 22, 2014
    ‘The delay of the introduction of free-flow tolls at Dartford River Crossing disappointing as it may present additional costs to industry’ is the message from the Freight Transport Association (FTA). The Association has voiced its concern in response to the announcement by the Highways Agency (HA) that the planned technology to allow motorists to use the crossing without having to stop at barriers and pay is to be delayed by up to four weeks. Originally planned to be in place by the 28 October 2014, th
    Read More
  • Prime Minister’s ‘roads revolution’ good news for industry
    November 11, 2014
    Responding to the UK Prime Minister’s announcement which outlined a ‘roads revolution,’ the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has said that plans to deliver roads improvements across the country are good news for the freight and logistics industry. David Cameron stated that plans for the biggest road building programme for almost half a century will be unveiled in next month's Autumn Statement and would contain a US$24 billion overhaul of 100 of Britain's busiest roads and motorways by the end of the
    Read More
  • US ushers in reforms with new transportation bill
    November 9, 2012
    On behalf of ITS America, Paul Feenstra maps out implications and opportunities for the ITS industry. A critical milestone was reached last month when the US Congress passed, and President Obama signed, legislation reauthorising the nation’s surface transportation programmes, breaking a nearly three-year log-jam which had stymied critical transportation reforms and delayed much-needed infrastructure projects. The law, numbered P.L. 112-141 but known as MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century),
    Read More
  • UK to lead the way in testing driverless cars
    July 20, 2015
    The UK government has launched a US$30 million competitive fund for collaborative research and development into driverless vehicles, along with a code of practice for testing. The measures, announced by Business Secretary Sajid Javid and Transport Minister Andrew Jones, will put the UK at the forefront of the intelligent mobility market, expected to be worth US£1.4 trillion by 2025. The government wants bidders to put forward proposals in areas such as safety, reliability, how vehicles can communicat
    Read More

Highlighted Content