Representation by Peninsula Transport Sub-national Transport Body (Peninsula Transport Sub-national Transport Body)
- Date submitted
- 11 January 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down scheme, along with other schemes currently being progressed at Sparkford to Ilchester and Ilminster to M5 at Taunton, are vital first steps towards achieving a whole route improvement and as such are strongly supported by Peninsula Transport.
Together with the M3, the A303/A358/A30 road corridor makes up one of only two routes from London to the South West, saving approximately 30 miles when compared to the M4/M5 route. Despite its strategic importance to the South West region, the route is of poor quality, experiencing considerable delays and unreliability. The A303/A358/A30 corridor improvements will therefore provide much needed resilience to the South West accessibility. Investments in the A303/A358/A30 corridor are also vitally important to the UK and South West economy, with wider implications for the rebalancing of the UK economy and harnessing the productivity potential of the Peninsula region.
The economies of the Peninsula Transport authorities contribute proportionally less to the UK average than other regions, as measured by GVA per head. Our wages are below the average for the whole South West. By upgrading the A303/A358/A30 corridor, we have an opportunity to contribute more to the national economy by releasing the untapped potential in the South West economy through investment in this vital piece of infrastructure.
Despite this, the populations of the corridor’s adjoining authorities have continued to grow, with further growth planned for the wider Peninsula region. There are large developments planned for the Greater Exeter area, Cornwall, Plymouth and Torbay. If all planned development comes forward, there will be a large resultant demand, and a high-quality transport network will be required to ensure the region’s population and economy can grow. It is vital that the A303/A30 does not act as a barrier to the planned growth in the Peninsula.
An independent economic assessment commissioned by the A303/A30/A358 steering group indicates that improving the whole corridor would deliver the following benefits over a standard 60 year appraisal period:
• Create 21,400 jobs • Deliver £21.2bn of taxation, welfare savings, disposable income and tourism benefits • Create £1.9bn in transport benefits from reduced journey times and greater resilience • Save 1807 fatal or serious casualties • Reduce carbon emissions by 9%
The economic study has recently been refreshed, updating the expected GVA benefits to the districts within the South West that are served by the A303/A30/A358 corridor. This finds that a whole corridor improvement to the A303/A30/A358 would result in GVA benefits to the whole region of almost £40 billion, with Somerset and Devon standing to receive the highest GVA benefits of £10.6 billion and £9.8 billion respectively. The Peninsula Transport geography therefore stands to reap substantial benefits from whole corridor improvements to the A303/A30/A358.
Peninsula Transport are pleased that the first three schemes included in the current Road Investment Strategy are progressing, and removal of the Stonehenge bottleneck through the Amesbury to Berwick Down improvement will form an important element of the whole route upgrade. However, in order to achieve the whole route upgrade, the remaining five schemes to upgrade the full A303/A358/A30 corridor to expressway status must be recognised in the forthcoming Road Investment Strategy in order to create a safe, efficient and resilient second strategic route between London and the South West Peninsula and ensure the economic benefits can be realised.