Responding to a report by the IPPR North think-tank that just
six per cent of spending in the Government's recent National
Infrastructure Plan will be in the North of England, while 84 per
cent of the funds will be targeted on London and the South East,
Metro Chairman Cllr James Lewis said,
"In a week when we have had the NGT trolleybus scheme further
delayed while we are asked to provide further information, not to
see whether we clear the Department for Transport's qualifying bar
but by how far we clear it, sadly this news is not very
surprising.
"Despite the previous Secretary of State for Transport Philip
Hammond saying that investment needs to be 'overlaid with a view
about regional equity', this huge discrepancy in transport spending
shows that Government is deliberately starving our region of much
vital funding for schemes that will support economic growth and
create permanent new jobs.
"These figures emphasise the decisions on these kinds of major
schemes should, as set out by Nick Clegg at the IPPR's recent
conference in Leeds, be in our own hands rather than those of
Ministers seemingly focused on investing in one over-heated corner
of the country."
Knock-on benefits
Both the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce have called
for investment in transport because knock-on benefits it brings to
all areas of the economy
Ian Williams, director of policy at Leeds, York and North
Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, told the Yorkshire Post
that the inequity between North and South as "unacceptable". He
added: "As the engine of the UK economy, no one can dispute that
investment in the South East's infrastructure is essential to the
well-being of the national economy. However, the extent of the
disparity between the South East and the rest of the English
regions is unacceptable."
"Just last week, the Deputy Prime Minister came to Leeds and
spoke of the importance of the rebalancing the economy and
distributing growth - yet transport spend is still heavily
concentrated in the South East."
Anger at further NGT delay from
DfT (opens in new window) - December 2011
North/South transport fund imbalance
endures (opens in new window) - November 2011
Boris's 'locomotive' in danger of
blowing a valve (opens in new window) - October 2011