The government should give English mayoral strategic authorities greater control over key roads, streamline planning approvals and expand their ability to raise and borrow money locally to accelerate transport infrastructure delivery, according to a report by the Centre for Cities think tank.
image: Centre for Cities
The report, Licence to Build: Delivering Urban Transport Infrastructure Through Devolution, argues that devolving responsibilities without reforming planning processes, funding arrangements and local capacity will leave regional leaders unable to deliver their transport ambitions.
Centre for Cities’ core point is reforms must progress together. Giving mayors more responsibility without improving access to finance, simplifying planning and strengthening delivery capacity risks transferring accountability without providing the means to act.
The report highlights delays to major schemes as evidence of the barriers facing local transport investment. In West Yorkshire, plans for a tram network in Leeds, first approved in principle in 1993, remain years from delivery, with services now not expected until the late 2030s. It also points to delays to the West Midlands Metro extension, a 1.7km scheme whose completion has been pushed into the 2030s.
The think tank argues that the government needs to address four connected areas: transport powers, planning, finance and the resources available to mayoral strategic authorities.
On transport powers, the report calls for mayors to become the highway authority for key regional routes, giving them greater control over roads that are important to local connectivity and economic development. It gives the example of the A19, where the North East and Tees Valley authorities have sought junction upgrades and new river crossings for years, but where decisions remain with National Highways.
The report argues that regional control could allow road investment to be coordinated more closely with wider transport and development plans. It points to Transport for London’s ability to manage major routes as part of an integrated transport strategy as a model.
On planning, the Centre for Cities says transferring approval powers for local rail schemes to mayors will not, on its own, remove the delays associated with complex application and assessment processes. It recommends ending the government's retained-scheme arrangements, reducing the need to revisit strategic cases for projects already included in local plans, and giving mayors greater flexibility over the application of national guidelines.
The report also calls for changes to how local transport infrastructure is financed. It argues that reliance on central government grants creates uncertainty for major schemes and limits the scope for authorities to borrow against future revenues.
The think tank recommends allowing mayoral authorities to retain a greater share of business rates and corporation tax generated in their areas, alongside greater borrowing powers. It also proposes wider use of tax increment financing around major transport projects and changes to National Wealth Fund lending to make it more closely aligned with private-sector finance.
Centre for Cities argues that fiscal devolution needs to reward local economic growth while ensuring that authorities have sufficient resources to deliver infrastructure.
It also identifies local capacity as a further constraint, calling for a significant increase in the Mayoral Capacity Fund to help authorities recruit and retain the skills needed to develop and deliver projects. It also recommends national guidance on design standards and costs to support more consistent and efficient project development.