Port of Liverpool road refused by Reeves

The chancellor cancelled funding for a multi-million-pound bypass in Sefton as part of wider cuts to planned upgrades to the national road network. Budget documents confirmed five key projects would be removed from the National Roads Programme in a bid to recoup GBP1.3bn – the total cost of the plans. The proposal for a dual carriageway that would link the Port of Liverpool to the country’s main motorway network was deemed to be unworthy of continued funding.

It had an estimated cost of between GBP163m and GBP335m, according to National Highways. Plans for the A5036 road were tagged as “unfunded and unaffordable”, especially after the project was postponed in 2023 due to “environmental challenges and ongoing design changes”, according to the Budget. The road would have been between Switch Island and Princess Way.

In 2022, National Highways identified the A5036 as the main access point to the Port of Liverpool – highlighting that the road was often congested, causing delays in freight distribution. The proposed route has been subject to local opposition, with some Sefton residents expressing concern about the road’s impact on local biodiversity and the impact on the green space of Rimrose Valley Country Park, which the A5036 would have cut through. One activist group, Save Rimrose Valley, reacted positively to the news, it said: “The road proposal was the wrong ‘solution’, which would have destroyed the last green space of its kind in what is already a heavily urbanised and polluted part of Liverpool.

“The fact that it was ever on the table is a disgrace and National Highways has serious questions to answer.” The Port of Liverpool was the only road in the North West to be cut in the Budget. Other road schemes that faced the chop are the A358 Taunton to Southfields, the M27 J8 Southampton, the A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout, and in the North East, the A1 Morpeth to Ellingham route.

• Debate the Budget’s impact on the North at Place North Question Time on 5 November. Book your ticket.[1]

While many road schemes were cut, some were notably kept on the agenda.

The A57, which traverses the Peak District between Manchester and Sheffield, will still go ahead. A spokesperson Peel Ports, the owner of the Port of Liverpool, said: “The A5036 relief road was a National Highways initiative to upgrade the road infrastructure in Sefton and was not a Peel Ports Group project. “The decision does however pose major questions for national and local government on how they should manage public, passenger and freight transport.

“The City Region needs investment in road and rail infrastructure to support jobs, businesses and the environment and, as a major contributor to the local economy, the Port of Liverpool plays a role of strategic significance in the future of investment, with strong plans for sustainable growth.

“We welcome discussions with partners at all levels on their long-term, transport options for the future to ensure that the City Region has access to the sustainable infrastructure it needs.

In particular, we have long advocated for improved rail access to the Port of Liverpool.”

References

1. ^ Book your ticket. (www.placenortheast.co.uk)