A promised £2.6bn for local road upgrades will be in the form of a second round of major road network (MRN) funding, it has emerged.
As part of the Government’s Network North announcement following the curtailment of HS2 last month, the Department for Transport (DfT) pledged a £1bn roads package in the North, a Midlands Road Fund worth nearly £650m, and a £1bn fund for new road schemes in southern England.
This was in addition to approximately £1.4bn to top up the Government's contribution to current schemes under the 2020-25 MRN and Large Local Majors (LLM) funding streams, from 85% to 100%, to help with cost rises.
The DfT said the £1bn for the North 'could support new schemes like the A1-A19 Hickleton Bypass in Doncaster' – a reference to what appear to be two separate local road schemes in the area.
Norfolk County Council is seeking £50m MRN cash for the West Winch Housing Access Road
At an industry event organised by Tarmac this week, senior DfT official Matt Eglinton said new funding totalling £4bn would include an ‘MRN2’ programme from 2025 onwards.
He added that the DfT will issue guidance on MRN2 eligibility and process next spring and clarify the position with uplifts to existing schemes ‘in due course’.
At this point, it is unclear if DfT has enough cash to pay for all the MRN and LLM schemes that it has approved, subject to final business case, under the current funding round - or if the MRN2 programme will include some of the current schemes for which insufficient cash is available.
In the meantime, the DfT will work closely on both with Sub-National Transport bodies, who were originally asked to submit bids for MRN/LLM schemes on behalf of highway authorities in their areas.
Both MRN and LLM schemes are currently funded through the 2020-25 National Roads Fund, which is nominally paid for by hypothecated Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).
As Highways has reported, the Treasury has declined to say whether VED hypothecation will continue after 2025.
