Burton and Uttoxeter’s Member of Parliament, Kate Kniveton, has taken her campaign to secure upgrades to the A50 up a gear ahead of the draft publication of the Government’s third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3). Expected this autumn, the strategy will outline which major road schemes the Government intends to invest in over the next five years between 2025 – 2030.
In recent days, the local MP, who is Project Champion for the North Midlands Manufacturing Corridor, has met with met with National Highways; the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Rt. Hon John Glen MP, and fed into a roundtable event with Midlands Connect, the regional transport body backing the bid.
Meeting with Richard Leonard, Head of Network Development at National Highways, Ms Kniveton heard more details into the possible options being explored to improve her constituents’ journeys along the A50 and congestion in Uttoxeter. Each option is currently being assessed by National Highways against deliverability criteria and value for money, before reporting back to the Department for Transport who will eventually decide which schemes to put forward for RIS3.
The local MP has also met in Parliament recently with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Rt. Hon John Glen MP, the Government minister responsible for infrastructure spending, to outline the economic case as to why the improvements to the A50/A50 corridor should be funded and included in RIS3.
Commenting, Kate Kniveton MP said:
“We are fast approaching crunch time for RIS3 when the Department for Transport will publish, in consultation with Treasury ministers, which projects the Government intend to deliver over the next five-year period.
“That means, as the Project Champion for the North Midlands Manufacturing Corridor, I am working closely with Midlands Connect to ensure that all pieces of the jigsaw come together at the right time, and that we have the strongest case to make.
“Residents in Uttoxeter will know all too well the problems with the existing A50 and the knock on impact that this has on the town. The proposals that myself and Midlands Connect have championed are now being investigated by National Highways and the opportunity to make a real difference to all those who make journeys locally. We will continue to work relentlessly in the final months ahead of the draft publication of RIS3 to make the case for this investment in the A50.”
