Blog ARCHIVE
TAN statement on Smart Motorways announcement
TAN statement on Smart Motorways announcement Scrap Smart Motorways to prevent climate change Transport Action Network welcomes today's announcement that another three Smart Motorway schemes have been paused by the Government (the M3 Junction 9-14 scheme was already paused in November 2021). However the ten-mile M6 Junction 21a - 26...
Cut fares not services!
Over the last decade, the Government has reduced fuel duty year on year so that motoring costs have fallen in real terms, even with recent fuel price rises. In comparison, it has raised rail fares above inflation for nearly every year since 2010. Meanwhile, the increase in traffic caused by...
Ministers undermine own pledge to cut emissions
UK ministers undermine own pledge to cut emissions UK ministers sought advice to protect road-building, day before net zeRo transport plan Secret briefings revealed as part of a High Court challenge [1] against England's £100bn roads programme [2] undermine UK pledges to cut emissions, say campaigners. The documents show that...
The “carbon neutral roads” con
The controversies surrounding carbon-offsetting are likely to be a big feature of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. Governments are desperately looking for ways to carry on increasing emissions with a ‘business as usual’ approach, whilst pretending this can be ‘balanced out’ elsewhere with offsetting schemes. The same tricks are...
Tell Rishi Sunak to stop funding RIS2
The £27 billion RIS2 roads programme is under pressure like never before. With your help we can give it a big nudge to push it over the edge. The Treasury is asking for your views on priorities for the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), which will set out Government spending for the...
Time to stop dancing around decarbonisation
“Time to stop dancing around decarbonisation” Department for Transport told Campaigners fresh from a legal battle with the Department for Transport say that its Transport Decarbonisation Plan cannot be credible, unless it abandons the roads programme. The much delayed Plan is rumoured to be published this Wednesday 14th July, coinciding...
Who will prioritise climate change?
TAN is shocked the High Court has ruled that it was lawful for the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, not to consider the impacts on climate change when he approved the £27 billion Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) roads programme . When our case was heard at the High Court in June,...
Court protects stability of roads programme over climate
Court protects stability of roads programme over climate Transport Action Network is shocked by today’s High Court ruling that the Secretary of State for Transport did not need to provide evidence to show he had considered the impact of the “largest ever” roads programme on climate targets [1]. In March...
High Court to rule on net zero scrutiny of ministers
High Court to rule on net zero scrutiny of ministers FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mr Justice Holgate will give judgment at 2pm on Monday 26th July on Transport Action Network’s (TAN) judicial review of the Secretary of State for Transport’s decision to approve the “largest ever” roads programme. Published in March...
Step forward as DfT agrees roads policy review
The Department for Transport has partially backed down in the face of our second legal challenge, agreeing to review its outdated roads policy which dismisses climate change (BUT see UPDATE below). Buried in the DfT’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan was a concession to review the National Policy Statement for National Networks...
Road to climate chaos
Last week the Department for Transport’s (DfT) £27 billion RIS2 roads programme of 50 new road schemes and ‘Smart’ Motorways was in the dock at the High Court as our case against this profligate waste of money and highly damaging proposal was finally heard. Our legal team argued it was...
High Court challenge to largest ever roads programme
High Court challenge to largest ever roads programme Photo call: 1pm, 29 June 2021 outside Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London Communities fighting road schemes across the UK will gather with banners and placards in support of this historic legal challenge on the first day of the judicial review The...
‘Smart’ Motorways need proper scrutiny
Building roads increases traffic. We’ve known this since 1994 when the Government published the seminal SACTRA report, “Trunk Roads and the Generation of Traffic”, that proved the phenomena of “induced traffic”. Yet despite knowing that we cannot build our way out of congestion, the Government seems intent on attempting to...
Grant Shapps undermines trust in planning
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps repeatedly overruling of independent planning inspectors and advisors is undermining trust in the planning system and democracy. This could have a corrosive effect, deterring people from participating in the planning system, if their opinion and evidence is going to be ignored. In the last year Grant...
Shrewsbury’s North West Road to Ruin
Guest blog by Emma Bullard of Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST) Compared to bigger schemes – Silvertown Tunnel, the Wensum Link, A303 Stonehenge – the North West "Relief" Road proposed for Shrewsbury might not seem like a big deal. It is budgeted at about £100M, is just under 7 km long,...
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