In October 2021, the Chancellor of the Exchequer presented his Autumn Budget and Spending Review (SR21) to Parliament. In November 2021 leaders from around the world met at COP26 to discuss tackling climate change. With securing global net zero by mid-century, and an aim to keep it within 1.5 degrees, a top priority we ask: Is the budget enough to make an impact?

Sustrans’ challenge to the Government to create a “golden age of cycling” off the back of the pandemic captured the attention of many earlier in the year with widespread media coverage and follow up articles.  But with the aim to have 50% of all journeys in towns and cities cycled or walked by 2030, as set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, support and funding from the highest level is necessary to make any real impact.    

The Key Elements
The key elements of the Autumn Budget and SR21 that are likely to have some impact on securing the UK’s net zero goals within transport are: 

• £46 billion on railways and £21 billion to be spent on roads, plus a guarantee to spend £5.7 billion setting up London-style transport systems across city regions including Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. 
• More than £5 billion to be spent on cycling and walking infrastructure  
• The first 100 projects to benefit from a share of the £1.7 billion Levelling Up Fund were announced.  

City Regional Sustainable Transport Systems & Levelling Up Funding
Transport settlements totalling £5.7 billion have been agreed with Greater Manchester, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, the West of England and Liverpool City Region over the next five years. The West Midlands and Greater Manchester have received the largest proportion of funding, totalling £1.05 billion and £1.07 billion, respectively. 

As part of the first bidding round of Levelling Up Funding, £1.7 billion has been allocated to 109 projects across the UK. These projects will upgrade local infrastructure, contributing to the Government’s levelling up agenda to reduce regional inequality. The remaining £3.1 billion will be distributed as part of further bidding rounds.  

£150 million has also been provided to 21 projects which seek to help communities retain assets that add value to the local social fabric of a place or play a central role in supporting the wellbeing of a community. 

Transport Connectivity
The SR21 pledges to improve the journeys people make every day and enhance connectivity between cities and regions to level up across all parts of the country. 

To support this, over £35 billion of rail investment is pledged over the next three years, including High Speed Two, rail enhancements and vital renewals to improve passenger journeys and connectivity across the country, focusing particularly on the Midlands and the North.  

This will bring communities across the country closer together and connect them to a wider range of opportunities through dramatically reducing journey times. 

£23 million of new funding will be delivered in anticipation of the final recommendations of Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review (UCR) to improve UK-wide connectivity. 

Over £500 million will be delivered to restore transport services lost as part of the ‘Beeching Cuts’ to improve local connectivity. £650,000 will be delivered to develop feasibility studies on 13 successful ‘Ideas Fund’ proposals for new lines and stations across England and Wales, reinstating passenger links as part of the ‘Restoring Your Railway Fund’. £7 million development funding from 2021-22 to 2024-25 will be provided to areas such as Somerset, Devon and Hampshire to reopen passenger services as part of this fund. 

Public Transport
The government will invest over £5 billion in buses, cycling and walking during this parliament, with bus investment totalling more than £3 billion. This includes a new dedicated commitment of £1.2 billion for bus transformation deals to deliver London-style services, fares and infrastructure improvements. 

£355 million of new funding will be pledged for zero emission buses and an allocation of £70 million Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas funding to deliver buses and related infrastructure will be provided to Warrington, Leicester, Milton Keynes and other regions. 

Conclusions
So is it enough? Will all of these planned investments make the real change that COP26 are aiming for? Can it make public transport and active travel the natural first choice for daily activities as Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP Secretary of State for Transport has set out? Can our existing towns, cities and villages cope with the changes needed? Can developers afford to implement the infrastructure that’s required for the change in new developments? 

The Budget and SR21 is a big leap forward for financial aid in this area, supporting recent positive changes in bus and active travel policy through Gear Change and Bus Back Better. Policy and investment are the two key elements necessary to force and support the change, but there is an element of scepticism in whether the financial support goes far enough to make shared transport and active travel a viable first choice in all areas. 

Concentrating on those cities outside of London to adopt a ‘London type transport system’ seems to be one of the main opportunities to move it in the right direction. Forcing people to use public transport or active travel by making it too difficult or too expensive for cars is one certain way of improving uptake, but it requires the requisite funding to deliver viable alternative options. For new developments, prioritising active travel and public transport by having those more easily accessible than private vehicles will also go some way in supporting the change. 

What we really need to implement and retain the change, is something we are already seeing. A new attitude to development that puts people at the heart of a place, and gives public transport and active travel real practical priority measures, to be easier, more convenient and cheaper than individual car travel.  

And what policy and funding starts is continued through consumer awareness. Buyer’s appetite to have prospective homes and workplaces with green links and greater accessibility will also drive the momentum to a shift in provision – and the more it’s available, the more it will be a simple expectation rather than an exception.  

PJA were the lead author of LTN1/20, the new cycling infrastructure design guidance which was published alongside ‘Gear Change’, and co-authored the guidance on Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans. Made up of some of the UK’s leading transport planners, engineers and place makers we work together to achieve a robust, evidence-led approach to creating better places and new developments.

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John Myatt, Associate Director

John is an experienced transport planner who has led a wide range of public sector transport and development projects, including the development and management of local authority capital programmes and transport strategies. He has also worked closely with developers and other stakeholders to bring forward large and complex sustainable urban extensions, and been part of the team delivering the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Having worked in senior roles within local authority transport teams, John understands how to deliver projects in a public sector political environment, and has extensive experience of working with partners and stakeholders across the public and private sectors.

Get in touch with John: [email protected] or 0121 387 7942