Liverpool city region campaign group Save Rimrose Valley successfully delayed a new £250m dual carriageway and is now issuing a wider call for a pushback on new road schemes. Tony McDonough reports
A Liverpool city region campaign group is urging Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and his counterparts across the north to call a halt to new road schemes.
Save Rimrose Valley has successfully delayed £250m plans to build a new dual carriageway close to the Port of Liverpool. First unveiled in 2017, the project would cut a country park in two.
Its pressure eventually won the support of MPs, local authorities and Mr Rotheram. In March its persistence was rewarded when Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, kicked the project “into the long grass”. It will now be delayed for at least three years.
Now Save Rimrose Valley is widening its scope. It is calling on regional mayors across the north to flex their devolution muscles by pushing back on new road schemes.
Campaigners want England to follow the lead of Wales where new road proposals must now satisfy strict, environmental criteria.
With the environment as high on the agenda as it has ever been, the dominance of road transport and decades of policymaking are now being brought into question.
Major new roads are often built with the aim of easing congestion. However, the phenomenon of ‘induced traffic’ is a well recognised one. This is where traffic volume grows to meet new capacity.
Paul Tuohy of the Campaign for Better Transport said: “Car dependency damages communities, affects our quality of life and has huge environmental consequences.
“We urgently need to address our car culture and give people more choice about how they move around.”
Save Rimrose Valley says Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and North of Tyne Combined Authorities all have controversial road proposals in the pipeline.
It is urging Metro Mayors to take advantage of the powers afforded to them through devolution and to work both with Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh MP and their Labour Welsh Assembly counterparts, to come up with a fresh approach for their regions.
Speaking on behalf of the campaign, Stuart Bennett said: “Since our campaign began, we have learned that roadbuilding is linked to so many of the issues communities across the north are facing today.
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“We have some of the worst air quality in the UK, our green spaces are constantly being taken from us, and the interests of big business are taking priority over the needs and rights of citizens.
“We know how influential our Metro Mayors are at Westminster and we’re excited about their plans to revolutionise transport here in the north.
“However, significant change simply won’t happen if our political leaders don’t recognise that new roads, and the traffic they generate are the biggest part of the problem. We hope they respond to our concerns.”