The interim report of the Union Connectivity Review was issued 10th March. Basically it covers in more detail the areas which Sir Peter Hendy (the guy that did the transport for the 2012 Olympics in London) proposes to take evidence upon and then report in the summer.
One of the drivers behind this report is the fact that, with Brexit, we are no longer contributors to the EU Trans-European Network for Transport – £447m in, less than 10% back to UK. Anyway, this means that we are now free to consider a UK network approach.
All the newspaper headlines are about the potential for a bridge/tunnel from Scotland to Northern Ireland and this is indeed covered in the report as an item to be considered. However the report also considers all aspects of air, road, rail and shipping at a high level across the UK. It’s a good report and quite short, with some interesting stats and charts so I recommend that you have a look. Union Connectivity Review Interim Report – March 2021 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
In Scotland the main reaction has been from Michael Matheson the Scottish Transport Minister who expressed irritation at the fact that a road in Scotland (the A75) is part of the review. Well the Union Connectivity Review team know all about what the Scottish Government is doing and the interim report specifically cites the Scottish National Transport Strategy as a key “interdependency”. As far as I am concerned, there can hardly be anything wrong with the UK government reviewing UK transport connectivity – did I miss something?
The Scottish minister went on to say that any proposed link between Scotland and Northern Ireland was a “vanity project”. This response can only be described as pathetic, and a bad case of “political vanity”. If a bridge/tunnel is technically or financially unachievable then let’s at least find out. If it is feasible then great, jobs in construction, more efficient trading across the UK and a chance to increase exports to the Republic of Ireland.
Irrespective of bridges and tunnels, we, self-evidently, need to consider connectivity across the country, linking main networks to freeports and other hubs to help reduce transport times and to make the UK internal economy as efficient as possible. We could also use reduced congestion and, potentially, an opportunity to improve areas of comparative deprivation, such as the south west of Scotland.
Whether the final report (due in the summer) is any good we will wait and see, but the scope of this review is necessary and urgent, and the Scottish Government need to stop sulking and start working with the UK government to get the best for Scotland.
Make Scotland Better 