Blog
Demand for transparency on Smart Motorways
As campaigners call for POPES to be freed on Bonfire Night Smart Motorways are widely seen to have been a failure. Deeply unpopular with road users and breakdown services, they have led to more live lane injuries and fatalities. As a result, in 2023, the further rollout of new schemes was cancelled by the then Conservative government. However, now the new Labour government is covering up the data which shows if the existing Smart Motorways produced the benefits they were...
Toxic concrete concerns
The government’s desire to be seen to be doing things at pace is already leading to poor and costly decisions. There is also a real risk that the public will...
National Highways’ Toxic Run-Off
It has been widely reported that our rivers are polluted, with not a single river in England in good overall health. What isn’t so well known is that a major source of this pollution comes from our roads – oil spills, particulate matter, and microplastics from tyre and brake wear....
Highway robbery – abusing Designated Funds
TAN has discovered that National Highways is syphoning off money from a dedicated fund for environmental and safety improvements (called ‘Designated Funds’1) to use it as sweeteners or greenwashing for new roadbuilding schemes. National Highways is also raiding the “ringfenced” funding to pay for mitigation that should come out of...
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National Highways not being held to account
There was a flurry of publications just before Parliament broke up in July, three of which directly related to National Highways. These reports are quite revealing about what National Highways has and has not achieved. They also show what aspects of National Highways’ performance are not scrutinised, and raise questions...
National Highways failing nature
When National Highways plans and delivers road schemes, it is meant to avoid harming nature and then minimise any impact, which it is then supposed to compensate for. This is called “mitigation” and is a legal requirement. In addition, new rules about Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) require developers to create...
Overspending on major projects – deliberate or incompetence?
National Highways has been criticised by watchdogs for frequent increases in the cost of its major road schemes, which can occur both before and after construction starts. Schemes can end up costing taxpayers millions – sometimes billions – more than when they were approved, calling into question the reliability of...