CECA has submitted a response to the Department for Transport’s (DfT) RIS3 variation consultation.
DfT has been consulting on proposals to reduce RIS3 capital funding by £428 million over the first four years of the investment period, from 2026-27 to 2030-31. This includes the possible cancellation of two enhancement schemes – the A46 Newark Bypass and A38 Derby Junctions – and an approximately 2 per cent reduction in other capital funding.
In responding to the consultation CECA has recommended:
- Rather than outright cancellation of the A38 Derby and A46 Newark Bypass schemes, CECA recommends that they are postponed and that their viability is revisited as part of the future planning and development of the strategic road network.
- The roads sector must increase innovation in design and construction practice, alongside the adoption of commercial models that provide National Highways with more outcome certainty and that enable appropriate risk sharing so that costs are less likely to spiral.
- The potential of different road user charging models to support investment in the strategic road network should be revisited, alongside continuing to review the regimes for fuel duty and vehicle taxation to create more attractive conditions for private investment.
- To achieve the 2% reduction in other capital funding that is being put forward as part of this consultation, National Highways, in partnership with the roads sector, should undertake targeted analysis to understand which areas of spending are most likely to support the optimum delivery of the RIS3 objectives.
CECA’s full response can be found here.