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Infrastructure Investment

Answer

The Government published the National Infrastructure Plan in October 2010, outlining our vision for the future of UK economic infrastructure. This identified eleven regional examples of capital projects in the three regions of northern England. An updated National Infrastructure Plan was subsequently published alongside the Autumn Statement in November 2011. This set out a pipeline of over 500 infrastructure projects across the UK, identifying the 40 projects most critical to economic growth. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury chairs a Cabinet committee on infrastructure, to ensure their delivery. The list of investments below is not exhaustive, given that between 60% and 70% of infrastructure is privately owned and operated. (1) North-east England Autumn Statement 2011 announced the following infrastructure investments: Tyne and Wear metro upgrade in the north-east. Further projects in that region, announced in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011, include: East Coast Main Line improvements programme; and Tees Multimodal Bio-Freight Terminal (as part of Regional Growth Fund). Budget 2012 confirmed that Newcastle had been selected to become a 'super-connected city' and will receive funding of up to £6 million to deliver ultra-fast broadband. (2) North-west England Autumn Statement 2011 announced the following infrastructure investments: M56 at Manchester Airport link road to A6 south of Stockport; Crewe Green Link Southern Section—New link road to the east of Crewe opening up a key development area and acting as a bypass; Manchester Cross City Bus—Highway changes and bus enhancements to facilitate new cross Manchester city centre bus services; and Rochdale Interchange—Replacement bus station for Rochdale adjacent to the existing, allowing for the redevelopment of the town centre and complementing the arrival of Metrolink in 2014. Priority projects in the north-west set out in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 include: A556 Knutsford; Manchester Metro Link Phase 3A Extensions; Heysham to M6 Link Road; Mersey Gateway Bridge; Expansion of Mersey Multimodal Gateway (as part of Regional Growth Fund); Completion of Western Gateway Enabling Scheme at Port Salford (through the Regional Growth Fund); Reinstating Todmorden Curve (through the Regional Growth Fund); and Northern rail connectivity (Liverpool-Newcastle electrification and the Ordsall Chord). Budget 2012 announced that: The Government will support Network Rail to invest £130 million to improve the connectivity between Manchester and Sheffield, Rochdale, Halifax, Bradford, Bolton, Preston and Blackpool. The Government will use their £150 million Mobile Infrastructure Project to deliver improved mobile phone coverage. In the north-west, this includes the A57 between Liverpool and Manchester and the A591 between Keswick and Sizergh. The Government have agreed to provide funding of up to £30 million, starting in 2015-16, to unlock £1.2 billion of infrastructure investment in Greater Manchester through a new investment model called the Earn Back Model. Manchester has been selected to become a ““super-connected city”” and will receive £12 million to deliver ultra-fast broadband. (3)Yorkshire and Humberside Autumn Statement 2011 announced the following infrastructure investments: Writing down debt on the Humber Bridge to halve the tolls for cars; Access York Park & Ride—Two new park and ride sites; Al8-Al80 Link (NE Lincolnshire)—Link road acting as a bypass for Immingham; A6182 White Rose Way Improvement Scheme (Doncaster)—Dualling of 1.9km of carriageway and replacement of 2 existing roundabouts with high-capacity signalised junctions; Al64 Humber Bridge to Beverley—Capacity and safety improvements at 4 roundabouts and dualling of 1.4 kilometre section of Al64; Leeds Rail Growth—Two new railway stations: Kirkstall Forge and Appley Bridge; Supertram additional vehicles (Sheffield)—Four additional tram vehicles for the Supertram network; and Accelerating M1 junction 39 to 42 scheme. Autumn Statement 2011 also announced £1.4 billion of investment in the railways and commuter links across the UK, including electrification of the transpennine railway route from Manchester to Leeds (£290 million), which cuts across the north-east, north-west and Yorkshire and Humberside regions. Priority projects in the Yorkshire and Humberside set out in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 include: Leeds Station enlargement; and Improved access to the Sheffield Gateway (as part of Regional Growth Fund). Budget 2012 announced that: The Government will support Network Rail to invest £130 million to improve the connectivity between Manchester and Sheffield, Rochdale, Halifax, Bradford, Bolton, Preston and Blackpool; Government will use its £150 million Mobile Infrastructure Project to deliver improved mobile phone coverage. In Yorkshire & Humber, this includes the A169 between Whitby and Norton; and The Budget confirms that Leeds and Bradford have been selected to become ““super-connected cities”” and will receive funding of up to £14.6 million to deliver ultra-fast broadband. A full list of major infrastructure projects is detailed in the National Infrastructure Plan, available on the Treasury's website. In addition to announcing these infrastructure projects, the Government established the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) and Growing Places Fund (GPF). The RGF, launched at June 2010 Budget, provides support for projects that offer significant potential for long-term economic growth and the creation of additional sustainable private sector jobs. In round 1, winners in the north-east of England, north-west of England and Yorkshire and Humberside are expected to create over 18,300 direct jobs and 13,200 indirect jobs in total. In round 2, winners across these regions are expected to create over 19,600 direct jobs, and 72,000 indirect jobs. Round 3 of the RGF (to allocate a further f1billion) is still open. The Growing Places Fund (GPF) provides additional funding for the infrastructure needed to unlock developments that will lead to jobs and growth. Funding has been allocated to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in north-east England, north-west England and Yorkshire and Humberside. The Government have also introduced twenty-four new Enterprise Zones, to be established across our LEPs. Two Enterprise Zones have been established in the north-east, four in the north-west, and four in Yorkshire and Humberside. Furthermore, at Autumn Statement 2011, the Government announced that they would establish pilot Rural Growth Networks (RGN) to test and demonstrate the potential to use the planning regime and targeted infrastructure improvement to support sustainable economic growth. RGNs have been announced in the north-east LEP and the Cumbria LEP.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

16922; 736 c405-8WA

Session

2010-12

Subjects

Capital investment Infrastructure North East North West Yorkshire and the Humber

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk