Cook prepares a recipe to give roads a bigger voice in the DfT funding battle

The case for more spending on motorways and trunk roads in England could be boosted by reforms proposed in Alan Cook’s review of how the strategic road network is managed

Andrew Forster

02 December 2011

The DfT should act as a champion of road users, setting performance standards for a more independent Highways Agency, or a successor organisation, says Cook

Alan Cook

A stronger voice for investing in England’s motorways and trunk roads will be created if the Government accepts the recommendations of its independent review of how the strategic road network (trunk roads and motorways) is managed.

The review by Alan Cook, the non-executive chairman of the Highways Agency, says the strategic road network (SRN) suffers in the DfT’s budget-making processes partly because it lacks the lobby enjoyed by sectors such as rail, London and local government....