Roads: Construction

(asked on 9th March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to reject any proposed new road scheme where the benefit-cost ratio is less than two.


Answered by
Trudy Harrison Portrait
Trudy Harrison
This question was answered on 17th March 2022

On the Strategic Road Network, a Preferred Route Announcement (PRA) is made at the end of National Highway’s Project Control Framework (PCF) Stage 2 (Options Selection).

Prior to the PRA, National Highways undertake an environmental assessment of all new road projects and produce the following documents.

  • Environmental Scoping Report - considers the information required for reaching a (reasoned) conclusion on the likely significant effects of a project on the environment.
  • Habitats Regulations Assessment - assessment and reporting of the implications of highway projects on European sites.
  • Environmental Assessment Report – Reports on the assessment of environmental effects associated with each option considered, including the preferred route.
  • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening - The identification of likely significant effects on the environment and consequential need for an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Decisions on which transport schemes are taken forward are made not solely on the benefit to cost ratio, but on the basis of the five case model outlined in the Department Transport’s Business Case in line with the principles of the Treasury Green Book.

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