01 / Introduction

Although the UK’s transport mega-schemes such as HS2 continue to grab the headlines, there has also been a subtle shift in transport planning towards local regeneration and levelling up. Transport has an insatiable appetite for capital spend, and not even the £96bn investment implied by the Union Connectivity Review satisfied all its stakeholders.

An alternative and complementary approach focused on smaller-scale investment is taking shape. The objective is to make towns and cities work better for citizens and visitors alike. In April 2022, seven of England’s eight devolved city-regions received details of their city-region sustainable transport settlements (CRSTSs), with about 65% of the value of proposed programmes securing support. Ultimately, additional funding totalling £4.2bn will be provided over the period 2022 to 2027 to support devolved and consolidated transport investment programmes. A further £8.8bn funding for the five-year period to 2032 was announced in the 2023 spring Budget.

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