Regions: Eastern and North East
The East Coast Motorway Feasibility Study
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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS In post 1992 Europe, Eastern England is Britain's land of development opportunity. It is full of locations that need and could accommodate employment, creating development which would be welcomed by many of the local authorities. But without better communications that opportunity cannot be fully exploited. This report demonstrates that an Fast Coast Route running from the Newmarket Bypass through the Fete, Lincolnshire and Humberside acid then across North Yore and Cleveland will lead to development which might not otherwise occur 1t will enable the East Coast region and its hinterland to achieve its potential and respond more effectively to the European challenge. The report has been commissioned by a consortium of local authorities, private sector companies, and the Commission of the European Communities. It shows that an East Coast Route is eminently feasible; can be constructed economically by incorporating and adapting some existing roads and planned improvements; and can be located so as to minimise environmental damage. At some £950m, a publicly funded East Coast Route some 230 miles long would be justified by Government economic criteria. Alternatively, it could be built in modified form as a toll road; this would be a feasible alternative if a public sector contribution was made in recognition of the route's economic benefits. |
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BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY The idea of a trunk road to open up the eastern counties of England has been discussed in the region since the 1940s. It received fresh impetus from a major conference held in Humberside in July 1988. That conference led to this study. The conference, organised by Humberside County Council with the support of other East of England County Councils, attracted some 200 representatives of commerce, industry and local and central government. Their attendance reflected a growing sense of frustration at what was perceived as the lack of long term strategic road planning and its detrimental effect on the region. Delegates were acutely aware of the imminence of the Single European Market and of the Channel Tunnel opening. They expressed the fear that Eastern England would be unable to fulfil its economic potential because of the inadequacy of its north south communications. There was a strong feeling that the opportunity to tilt the balance of Britain's economic geography was being lost. John Banham, Director General of the CBI, urged the conference not to rely on lobbying the government, but to take action themselves to pave the way for a new East Coast Route. If the organisations expressing concern and frustration were willing to put their own money into investigating the project's viability, they would have a better chance of convincing ministers and officials. Acting on this, Humberside assembled a team of sponsors, from both public and private sectors, who were prepared to fund a feasibility study. The sponsors included seven County Councils, nine District and Borough Councils and no fewer than 19 private sector organisations including local industrialists. The biggest contribution came from the Commission of the European Communities (EC). The organisers deliberately did not seek Whitehall funding they wanted the study to be independent of government. Early in 1990 a public tender was held. As a result the sponsors appointed the multi disciplinary EACO Route Group of consultants to undertake a 10 month study. This consortium comprises transportation planners Wootton Jeffreys Consultants, civil engineers Kennedy Henderson, planning consultants Llewelyn Davies Planning, financial consultants KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock and Transroute, designers and operators of French toll motorways. The brief for the study was to investigate:
having regard to:
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SCOPE OF THE STUDY 
Our main area of study focused on the counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Humberside and Cleveland, together with those parts of North Yorkshire and County Durham east of the Al. That is to say, in our search for a suitable route, we did not look west of the Al. For other purposes such as forecasting traffic flows, assessing the impact on ports, and reflecting the European dimension we extended the study area. We included Suffolk, areas north of the M25, and areas between the A1 and the M1. The strategic model used to develop traffic forecasts takes account of origin destination patterns in 17 counties. That in itself represents a significant innovation in regional transport planning. The feasibility study was essentially a strategic exercise. We therefore relied heavily an information already available and on the accumulated experience of the sponsors and of ate parries with a responsibility or interest in the region. County and District Councils have provided much traffic, planning and economic data; the Department of Transport helped by supplying essential traffic data; and discussions have been held with many private and public bodies in the region. During the 10 month study we held four meetings to report progress to sponsors and local authority officers. We regarded it as essential to keep the sponsors in touch with our methodology, progress and current thinking at each stage. These meetings gave sponsors an opportunity to comment on and influence the direction of the study |
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THE EAST COAST REGION The economy of the study area is varied. Overall the region has a very high share of UK employment in agriculture, food processing, steel and chemicals; and a low share of jobs in such sectors banking and business services. The North East and much of Humberside still show the scars of the drastic rationalisation of heavy industry which took place in the early 1980s. High unemployment persists in such places as eastern County Durham, Cleveland, Whitby, Hull, Grimsby and on the Lincolnshire coastal plain. By contrast, in parts of North Yorkshire, south Cambridgeshire and south Norfolk, unemployment is well below the national average. The southern areas of East Anglia have experienced problems of "overheating" associated with rapid economic growth. In the southern part of the study area, popultion have been growing quite markedly in recent years. East Anglia is among the fastest growing regions in the UK and likely to remain so throughout the 1990s. By contrast, the populations of Cleveland and Humberside have remained static or even shown signs of decline. The main framework for planning in the region is provided by County Structure Plans and District Local Plans. The content of these varies considerably. Some counties, such as Cambridgeshire, seek to restrain development in many locations; other County Plans wish to encourage development, albeit in selected locations. In several parts of the study area there exist quality environments, both natural and built. In our search for a route, we sought to avoid and protect these. The North York Moors National Park and the Howardian Hills and Lincolnshire Wolds Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) are important environmental constraints. Others include an Area of High Landscape Value following the Lincolnshire Edge and many Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). In the south of the study area lie two large SSSIs, the Nene and Ouse Washes. Designated for their unique bird life, they constitute major constraints on the route of any new road. Extensive areas of highly graded agricultural land and several Green Belts act as further constraints on development. Nevertheless, there are still large areas free for new development. Existing roads in the study area include some 98 miles of motorway, 1,000 miles of A class trunk road, and 2,375 miles of county A roads. However, of a total 3,473 miles of A road and above, only 402 miles are dual carriageway. This is a much lower proportion than in England as a whole. 
The area benefits from some good east west links. These include the two Humberside motorways, the M62 on the north bank and the M180 on the south bank; and the high quality A45/A604 route connecting the Suffolk ports with the A1 at Huntingdon. Elsewhere east west links to the coastal areas are at present poor. North south connections are far from satisfactory. The only continuous north south route through the study area the A1 does not directly connect the region's main population centres: Teesside, York, Hull, Lincoln and Cambridge. All these centres lie at varying but significant distances to the east. Moreover, parts of the A1 are heavily overloaded: some stretches carry over 50,000 vehicles a day, including a high proportion of heavy goods vehicles, though between Doncaster and Peterborough flows are somewhat lower. Overall the A1 has a poor reputation for reliable journey times. Elsewhere in the region, traffic flows vary markedly. Cambridgeshire has some of the most heavily used roads; over the county boundary in Lincolnshire many roads are lightly used. Flows on the A15 through Lincolnshire, for instance, generally range between 7,000 to 10,000 vehicles a day. Rail coverage also varies in quality. British Rail radial routes from London serve the southern and western parts of the region, but most areas rely on slow cross country connections to the East Coast main line. Some rural services are under threat, notably in Lincolnshire. Freight carried by rail represents only a small proportion of total freight movement. Tees & Hartlepool, Hull, Immingham, Grimsby, Boston, King's Lynn, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, Felixstowe and Harwich are all important ports. Some of these have seen rapid growth in the past decade, and all have potential for future growth. They represent focal points in the region's transport infrastructure, facing the major markets of continental Europe. Teesside, Humberside and Norwich airports are located within the study area The three airports have essentially local catchment areas, but are capable of expansion. Stansted is located very close to the M11 and just south of the study area. It is currently undergoing substantial expansion and has potential for further growth. |
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THE REGION'S FUTURE Throughout the 1990s, the economy of Eastern England like the UK economy as a whole will face a stern challenge. It must remain competitive in an increasingly integrated Europe. There is growing recognition that firms will have to cut costs and make savings in their workforces. The need to contain and reduce EC agricultural surpluses is likely to bear especially hard on farmers. Farm jobs may decline further, farm profits are likely to fall, and this may well have a knock on effect on their suppliers. The region therefore needs new jobs. It can secure them by attracting firms oriented to serving European wide markets. However, such firms will often be in a position to choose between different European locations. They will tend to favour places which have rapid, reliable transport links with the main markets in the Community. Areas not well served by the highway network risk losing out. Without a new East Coast Route the general pattern is one of slow sustained growth in the North and rapid growth in East Anglia. Unlike those forecasts used in road planning, we do not see any of the counties having declining long term population and employment levels. Strong development pressures currently concentrated on such cities as Cambridge and York are likely to continue. Local planning authorities in these areas will try to redirect development to other parts of their counties. At the same time Cleveland and Humberside will probably still be actively encouraging and promoting development in many areas and will keep suitable sites available. However, the effectiveness of efforts to direct development to where it is needed and can be accommodated depends crucially on accessibility. For example, Lincolnshire County Council has a very strong pro growth policy. However, improvement of the A46 between Lincoln and the Al, and lack of infrastructure improvements elsewhere, means that development pressure will continue to concentrate on the City of Lincoln. Many improvements are planned for the region's highway network. While this study was in progress, the Department of Transport (DTp) announced that in due course the whole of the Al would be upgraded to motorway standard, although about 67 miles are not yet included in the road programme. In addition to the Al, other DTp and County Council programmes represent a likely investment on the region's roads of some £2,000m in the next decade. While the upgrading of the A1 to motorway will improve the standard of north south communications on the western edge of the study area, there are few other improvements which could be described as significant in terms of north south traffic. The government's greatly expanded trunk road programme responds to recent upward revisions to national traffic flow forecasts. With high economic growth in Britain as a whole, these predict an 87% growth in traffic between 1990 and 2016. In counties covered by the study area, the forecast increase is 93%; Cambridgeshire (at 119%) has a higher predicted growth than any other county in Britain. Roads apart, other improvements are taking place. Electrification of the main East Coast rail line will soon be complete, and more limited improvements are planned for other lines. Seaports whose throughput has already grown rapidly notably those specialising in roll on/roll off and container traffic are likely to expand further with the opening up of European markets. Just to the south of the study area, large scale expansion is transforming the role and importance of Stansted Airport. By 2005 Stansted is predicted to be handling more passengers than the present Gatwick throughput. |
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LOCATING A NEW STRATEGIC ROUTE The Search for a Corridor This report proposes two slightly different corridors one for a publicly funded road, the other for a toll road. How did we arrive at these routes? They were the result of an extensive search of potential corridors; during the study we identified and assessed more than 50 options. We examined every likely corridor between the A1 and the North Sea. Throughout the search for a route, we applied a series of tests. In relation to each option, we asked:
Early on, we divided the study area into three zones for route selection purposes: north of the Humber, Humber to Wash, and south of the Wash. In the northern zone, we looked at corridors east and west of the North York Moors National Park and even through it. Only routes west of the Moors survived our route selection tests. In the central zone through South Humberside and Lincolnshire, we examined corridors east and west of the Lincolnshire Wolds. In our southern zone, we studied a wide range of corridors in a 50km (31 miles) wide band east of the Al. We did not automatically assume a direct connection with the M1 motorway. Although the route has been talked and thought of as an "East Coast Motorway", we kept an open mind about the standard to which it should eventually be built. We looked hard at the possibility of using lengths of existing road, especially where these are programmed for improvement. Practical experience of toll road construction and operation led us to conclude that toll and publicly financed options were unlikely to follow identical routes. Any toll road needs, wherever possible, to avoid using public highway; it also demands a different approach to the layout, location and frequency of junctions. Thus the route selection process led us to propose two preferred options: one publicly funded, the other depending for part of its funding on tolls.
The Publicly Funded Corridor This route is all high quality dual carriageway, mostly on new alignments. The dual carriageway would generally be two lane. Although traffic flows will vary along the route, this minimum design standard will be maintained and additional lanes provided as necessary. Some sections use existing roads: these are either already of adequate standard or are programmed for improvement and require a minimum of further investment. The Publicly Funded Corridor starts on the high quality dual carriageway A19 trunk road just south of the County Durham/Cleveland border. It leaves the A19 at a point west of Hartlepool and sweeps westwards round the MiddlesbroughBillingham urban area providing Stockton on Tees with a new bypass. It also bypasses several smaller communities: Eaglescliffe, Thornaby on Tees, and Yarm. Other benefits include substantial relief to the already overloaded A19 bridge over the Tees in Middlesbrough and greatly improved access to Teesside Airport and Teesside itself. 
Just south of the Cleveland/North Yorkshire boundary, the route rejoins an existing high quality dual carriageway A19. We propose widening this road to dual three lane standard and eliminating local access points. New service roads and bridges would replace lost accesses. A new grade separated junction gives access to Thirsk. South of Thirsk, the present A19 reverts to single carriageway. Here we propose a new dual carriageway incorporating the proposed Easingwold Bypass. Two grade separated junctions would serve the market town of Easingwold. The route then curves round to bypass York to the east, either making use of an improved Ring Road or on a new alignment further east. From York to south of Beverley, a new dual carriageway parallels the A1079, with a junction serving Market Weighton. Between Market Weighton and Beverley the route turns south to join the new Humber Bridge Northern Approach Road. It utilises this road to the Humber Bridge. After crossing the Humber Bridge (junctions with the A63 on the north bank and the A1077 on the south bank), it continues south from Junction 5 on the M180 to the west of Market Rasen and Horncastle and the east of Lincoln. The A158 would link the route to Lincoln. A junction with the A153 provides links to Homcastle and Sleaford; junctions with the A1121 and A16 give connections to Boston. South of Boston, the route joins the A17 as it runs parallel with the south shore of the Wash. The DTp already plans a dual carriageway here, an improvement which the route would utilise. We anticipate the DTp making improvements off the line of the existing road so as to minimise environmental impact. Increasing traffic flows on this stretch may necessitate adding a third lane to each carriageway. Halfway between Holbeach and King's Lynn, near Sutton Bridge, the route leaves the A17 and turns south. Anew dual carriageway carries it through part of Norfolk and into Cambridgeshire to the A45 Newmarket Bypass. This section has grade separated junctions with the A47 (for King's Lynn and Wisbech); with a new link road to Downham Market; and with the A142 (for Soham and Ely). We have taken care to align it to pass east of the Ouse Washes SSSI and nature reserve, which stretches over 20 miles south west from Downham Market. Connection southwards from the route to the existing motorway network would take advantage of the DTp's imminent improvements to the All between the A45 and the M11 Junction 9 at Stump Cross. Between County Durham and Newmarket the Publicly Funded Corridor is some 366km long (227 miles). Of this, 337km (92%) is on new roads or existing roads substantially improved. At current prices, its construction cost is estimated at some £950m. The Tolled Option Over most of its length this Corridor is'identical to the Publicly Funded Corridor (PFC). It differs in minimising the use of existing road alignment and in having fewer junctions. Some relatively short sections use existing highway, which (with the exception of the Humber Bridge), would not be tolled. From its northern end the route follows the PFC alignment round Stockton and Teesside; and then continues along part of the A19 in North Yorkshire which is to be improved. This section would be toll free; the improvements are justified as public investment in their own right. The toll road proper starts east of Northallerton in North Yorkshire. A new dual carriageway (A to B on the map on page 9) running parallel to and east of the existing (single carriageway) A19, carries it to the outskirts of York. W e envisage only one intermediate junction at Thirsk. The route follows the PFC round York with a single junction to serve the city at the A64 Scarborough road. From here to the A15/M180 janction in South Humberside it also follows the PFC with the same junctions. For 21 km (13 miles) from the start of the Humber Bridge approach to the M180 rt is on public highway. This section is therefore toll free for local traffic which both joins and leaves along this stretch, apart from traffic using the bridge itself From the M180's Junction 5 to the A45 near Newmarket, the Tolled Corridor would take the form of 172km (107 miles) of continuous dual carriageway with limited, tolled access. The first section would pass closer to Lincoln than the PFC and rejoin it north of Boston. It would leave the PFC again to follow a parallel route north of the A17 (E to F on the map on page 9). At Sutton Bridge it would once more join the PFC line and follow it to the A45 near Newmarket. There are only three junctions on this stretch: with the A16 (for Boston); with the A47 (King's Lynn and Wisbech); and, with a new Downham Market link road. On the tolled sections of the route (A to C and D to G on the "Preferred Corridor" map) we propose a "closed toll system". This means that drivers receive a ticket on entry and pay on exit; they pay only for the distance they travel. Payment is at toll plazas of the kind familiar to users of toll bridges in Britain and toll autoroutes in France. They are located on slip roads to gradeseparated junctions designed in the "trumpet" shape. To minimise both the construction and operating costs of toll plazas, it makes sense to limit the number of junctions. When the road opens toll charges could be around Sp to 6p a mile at today's prices. The length of Tolled Corridor between Northallerton and Newmarket is 312km (194 miles); of this 291km (181 miles) is new road. At today's prices, the entire route from County Durham to Newmarket is estimated to cost about £930m to construct. Both route options Publicly Funded and Tolled are essentially corridors of opportunity; they are not final, detailed alignments. The study has demonstrated that within these corridors there is ample scope for minor local variation. |
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THE ROUTE'S IMPACT The Regional Economy A high quality East Coast Route will give the region a new cohesion. By improving accessibility both north south and east west, it strengthens existing economic activity. It also provides a powerful magnet to attract new businesses. Increasingly firms will serve European wide markets. They will demand convenient and reliable access to East Coast ports and to new European railheads. The route also reduces journey times between East Coast ports and Britain's main industrial areas. It thus reduces the cost of trading with Europe. This helps the region's ports to stay competitive, and the risk of the region becoming marginalised on the periphery of Europe will recede. We estimate that economic growth accompanying the route will produce up to 60,000 new jobs; this would add substantially to job creation in Eastern England in the period following the opening of the route. Many of these jobs could represent a net gain in employment to the UK economy and not just transfers from other regions. Overall we would expect an inflow into the region of some 100,000 people. They would come mainly from more crowded parts of the UK. These forecasts assume the establishment of a regional economic development strategy to complement the construction of the route. Given vigorous promotion of such a strategy, economic growth could possibly be higher. Development Opportunities A comprehensive strategy would bring two benefits. It would help to reduce pockets of high unemployment and it would alleviate pressures for development elsewhere, for instance in East Anglia and North Yorkshire. If planned and built as part of a comprehensive strategy, the Route will unlock new development. Much of it should occur in settlements close to or adjoining the Route. We had this very much in mind when choosing corridors and have identified a number of locations with major development potential along the corridor. In some places these new settlements would be quite small villages of perhaps 2,000 people; in other places townships with perhaps 25,000 inhabitants. Elsewhere we would expect to see smaller developments over a wider area. Of course such a development strategy will rely on the adoption by County and District Councils of common policies to implement the Route's development goals. Tourism Popular tourist attractions in the region places like York and Cambridge suffer more from overcrowding than poor road access. They will continue to thrive. Many of the coastal resorts have suffered from the prolonged decline of the domestic long stay holiday market. Some resorts, such as Scarborough, have successfully developed into new markets including conferences and short break holidays. Initiatives of this nature require significant investment in hotel accommodation and visitor attractions. Resorts which make such investment will be more likely to benefit from the improved accessibility provided by the route. Tourism also needs to be spread more evenly through the region. Countryside farmhouse holidays have been effective in doing this in parts of the UK well served by roads. With the new route many eastern areas, particularly rural Lincolnshire, can begin to realise their potential in this market. Transport Infrastructure 
Present road programmes promise improvement in the region's east west communications, but these high quality routes are currently unconnected. The new East Coast Route will provide a backbone to these new roads. It will therefore complement the Government's trunk road investment programme. The region's ports will be significant beneficiaries from this linking together of east west routes. All East Coast seaports can expect to benefit from enhanced accessibility; shippers of goods will have a wider practicable choice of port facilities. The route will considerably improve access to bdh Teesside and Humberside Airports, which play an important role in linking local communities to the international air network. The whole region will enjoy much improved access to a major international airport, at Stansted. What is the East Coast Route's likely impact on rail services? We do not foresee an adverse effect on the use of BR's East Coast Main Line since rail journey times into London are still unlikely to be bettered by road. As new jobs and inhabitants are attracted to the area, there will be good prospects of sustaining and possibly upgrading local rail services in the longer term. Engineering Aspects The route poses no serious engineering pmoblems; construction costs can be kept below £960m. We envisage most construction being off the line of existing roads; disruption to existing traffic will thus be minimal. Some connecting roads will need improvement. The additional capacity provided will avoid local overloading. These links could cost up to £5Om, depending on whether the tolled or publicly funded option is chosen. Without an East Coast Route, the road building authorities could be spending rather larger sums over the next 20 years on relieving parallel routes. So savings in this expenditure would more than offset the cost of improving connections to the new route. Traffic 
South of Cleveland, flows on the PFC are generally about half those expected on the parallel section of a future A1 motorway. North of Thirsk substantial volumes of existing A19 traffic join the route and flows could approach 70,000 vehicles a day on some sections. From Thirsk southwards to Hull flows between 30,000 and 40,000 are forecast. The forecast flows on the central Lincolnshire part of the route shown do not include traffic generated by major development in the corridor. Lincolnshire County Council has recently adopted policies aimed at securing significant development in the corridor and this should lead to flows on this section increasing to 17,000 22,000 vehicles per day. By 2016 traffic flows on the Boston Newmarket section are predicted to range between about 22,000 and 70,000 vehicles a day. In economic terms, such levels are viable and produce a positive "net present value" in cost benefit analysis terms. At the same time, these traffic levels permit comfortable driving conditions and reliable journey times for the foreseeable future. Traffic flows on the tolled route would be much lower between 20 55% of PFC levels. Environmental Factors Planning a very long route through largely rural areas has a big advantage. Areas and sites of special environmental value can be avoided without making awkward or costly detours. A strategic approach avoids the increases in capital and operating costs which can attach to the more piecemeal approach of on line improvements and short bypasses. Environmentally, the proposed corridors both Tolled and Publicly Financed avoid the most sensitive areas. During the selection process, we looked at many routes which would have attracted higher traffic flows and given better cost benefit results; however, orthodox cost benefit analysis takes no account of environmental effects and we rejected these routes because of their more damaging environmental impact. The chosen routes avoid statutorily defined areas of environmental quality such as the North York Moors National Park and the Howardian Hills and Lincolnshire Wolds AONBs. There are numerous Sites of Special Scientific Interest in our areas of search. We believe we can avoid most of them. Nevertheless the route will pass through or near other areas of environmental importance and more detailed studies will be needed to identify the final alignment. Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire are rich in high quality agricultural land. No road through this region could hope to avoid it all. Some high quality farmland will be lost, but we believe that the benefits which the road will bring to agriculture will more than offset them. Economic development and growth necessarily generate some additional traffic. This implies increased vehicle emissions and higher noise levels, but the rise in vehicle kilometres travelled in the region will be small probably under 0.4%. Against this, many villages and small towns particularly in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire will benefit from lower levels of traffic and noise. In particular, the new route should prove very effective in taking goods vehicles off unsuitable single carriageway roads. |
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THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION 
In the 1990s and beyond European trade barriers will increasingly disappear. Businesses will look for customers not just in the Community, but throughout the continent. The long term prospects for European trade are good. Businesses with strategies to exploit these opportunities will find Eastern England attractive. It has development sites and labour resources. The fast, uncongested links with manufacturing and distribution centres provided by the East Coast Route will enhance its attractiveness. In 1993 the Channel Tunnel is due to open. British Rail plans to introduce through passenger services to the Continent along the East Coast Main Line. Channel Tunnel freight terminals, such as those proposed for Doncaster and Teesside, will open up new opportunities for multi modal freight traffic freight which makes part of its journey by road and the long haul part by rail. The East Coast Route points towards the Channel Tunnel. Proposals for a Lower Thames Crossing from near Tilbury into Kent to link with the M20 Channel Tunnel motorway are currently being studied. This new road crossing could be linked to the M11 near Stansted via an A120 already earmarked for upgrading and an improved A130 DunmowChelmsford Canvey road. Indeed the DTp have identified these as potential private sector financed schemes. Whatever the success of the Channel Tunnel and its associated infrastructure in serving shippers to France and Southern Europe, the East Coast ports will remain much of the UK's main link with Northern Europe. Roll on/roll off and container trade will continue to grow rapidly and the quality of combined transport links through the East Coast ports will make the region attractive as an industrial location. The East Coast Route, in combination with high quality east west links such as the M62, M180 and A45, will enhance these ports' accessibility and help them to serve a wider hinterland. North East England and Scotland will benefit from a fast, direct road link to the Humber ports with their specialised facilities and frequent services to European markets.
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FUNDING THE NEW ROUTE A new East Coast Route is a major addition to the national road network. It meets European and national as well as regional objectives of improved accessibility and economic development. 
We have carried out detailed analysis of the value of savings in journey times and other traffic benefits accruing from the route. Using normal Department of Transport methods (COBA), our results show that the Government's cost benefit criteria are met. With `high' levels of economic and traffic growth the road is an attractive public investment. The East Coast region is one of the few areas in the UK where road capacity will not restrain forecast high growth from occurring. Therefore it is realistic to provide for high traffic growth when planning investment in highway infrastructure. A positive cost benefit result does not include all the economic benefits of a new road. The new route could be the catalyst for a boost in economic activity throughout Eastern England perhaps beyond that which it is practicable to reflect in traffic forecasts. By improving access to East Coast ports, it will help to open up Continental markets. It will also assist the social and economic objective of creating jobs in areas of relatively high unemployment. This leads the project team to the view that a strong case exists for funding the route as part of the national roads programme. The construction of the various options proposed has been costed at about £950m. This figure makes no allowance for any savings in other highway schemes which may no longer be needed. This expenditure can be compared to widening the 120 mile M25 which is going to cost £1,OOOm, and upgrading the existing Al to motorway standard which will probably cost more than £1,OOOm. We have, however, also examined in detail the scope for attracting private finance towards construction costs. By increasing the demand for development land in Eastern England, the road will bring about substantial rises in land values. We tentatively estimate these at more than £1,000m over a 10 year period. On this basis, we believe there is potential for attracting substantial contributions from developers towards the cost of the new route's construction. However, there are difficult practical issues to be resolved in devising effective arrangements for securing such contributions. Legislation currently being brought before Parliament would make it feasible to construct a toll route through eastern England. We have carried out an analysis of the finances of possible toll operation. This suggests that, although contributing significantly to construction costs, toll revenue would fall well short of the total sum needed. Assuming that a toll road's promoters also secured substantial developer funding, private finance is unlikely to meet more than 30% 40% of total construction costs. Substantial public funding would still be required. |
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THE WAY FORWARD This report marks the end of the feasibility study. It also marks a beginning the beginning of a new phase in which the energies of all interested parties must be concentrated on implementation. What, then, is the next step? Firstly, the sponsors must not allow discussion to be side tracked into argument over detail. This is not the time to settle precise alignments or the exact locations of junctions. Our study has demonstrated that, provided the route is planned as a whole, there need be no insuperable difficulties. Instead the debate must focus on the principle of the route, and its funding. The aim must be to ensure that all decision takers and everyone with influence is presented with these findings. Ministers, Department of Transport officials (at Marsham Street and in the four interested regions), the Departments of the Environment and Trade and Industry, MPs, Peers and MEPs all must be made fully aware of the strength of the case for the publicly funded East Coast Route. If the mixed funding option is to progress, central government backing is also essential. In coming months and years private sector organisations have an important and continuing role: as lobbyists to secure its early realisation. The momentum, vision and the political and financial will which grew out of the original conference must be maintained. One valuable step would be to establish a regional organisation or standing conference, covering at least the study area, to plan and promote economic development and infrastructure. Every local authority with an interest in the findings of this study and the issues it covers ought to be eligible to participate. The lead and coordinating role hitherto filled by Humberside County Council will still be needed. Above all this new regional body must develop the partnership now firmly established between public and private sectors. Together they must work to put strategic infrastructure planning for Eastern England firmly back on the agenda. |
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CONCLUSIONS Counties along England's eastern seaboard are exceptionally well placed to develop and compete in wider European markets. These opportunities could be put at risk by inadequate road links. East Coast ports are thriving, helped partly by marked improvements in east west roads. The region needs a high quality north south route to connect these roads and its main centres of population. An improved A1 will not do this. The East Coast Route proposed by this study would provide a direct, fast, high capacity route linking the North East, Teesside, York, Hull, and Cambridge. It would connect to the Mll and thus to the Channel Tunnel. The route would probably be built as high quality dual carriageway. It satisfies the Government's cost benefit criteria, and would be a powerful catalyst to development. It will help to take development pressure off overheated locations like Cambridge and York and divert it to locations which welcome development, including areas of relatively high unemployment. The new 366km (227 mile) route is estimated to cost £950m to construct. It will make possible substantial savings on road improvements elsewhere. The route would attract most traffic if built with public funds. This option is considered better value for money. The route could also attract private sector funding in the form of contributions from developers and landowners who would stand to gain from increases in land values, and from tolls from traffic using the road. If operated as a toll road, it would carry markedly less traffic. The public and private sponsors of this study should actively promote the early construction of the route. The local authorities involved should set up a strategic planning organisation to advance the development of the region as a whole. |
