WIREDGOV

Chancellor kicks off two-day tour to see how the government’s infrastructure plan is delivering road improvements across the country.

Chancellor visits Wincanton depot on the A303 to hear how further infrastructure investment in the Autumn Statement could support the local economy

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, yesterday (13 November 2014) visited Wincanton logistics depot outside Yeovil to hear how the government’s infrastructure plan could deliver further road improvements that relieve congestion for local businesses along the A303.

The visit formed the first leg of the Chancellor’s two-day tour to see how the government’s infrastructure plan is delivering road improvements across the country and hear directly from local businesses on what more the government can do and which areas need to be prioritised.

The government has committed to invest £15 billion in roads over the next parliament, as the Prime Minister announced earlier this week, with further details promised at next month’s Autumn Statement.

Wincanton, the largest UK-owned logistics provider with operations across the UK and Ireland, would clearly benefit from improvements to the A303, which is the most direct route from London to the Southwest.

With a fleet of over 4,000 vehicles fulfilling milk, retail, defence, fuels and construction contracts across the region, the company is supportive of initiatives that will reduce congestion, decrease emissions, cut costs and ultimately benefit consumers.

Local business leaders have campaigned for 20 years for measures to relieve congestion on the A303, and say cutting delays is vital for the West Country’s jobs and tourism. The government has responded to these calls by commissioning a feasibility study on this proposal, which is currently ongoing.

George Osborne said:

It has been incredibly useful to hear from Wincanton to understand their first-hand experiences of the challenges facing the A303 corridor, and the way that delays cost businesses time and money.

Thanks to our long-term economic plan, this country is now in the early stages of the biggest improvement programme for roads of the modern age, with this Government committed to investing £15 billion to road maintenance, repair and expansion.

Further improvements to the A303 would support the whole of the Southwest of England, which for too long has seen its infrastructure needs ignored. Work on the A303 would make it more reliable for businesses and safer for drivers, and I will be looking carefully at what we can do in the weeks ahead to support the region.

Chris Kingshott, MD at Wincanton, said:

We’re always looking to add value to our customers’ businesses and any improvement to infrastructure will have a positive impact which will also ultimately be good for consumers.

With over 4,000 commercial vehicles on the road every day, the safety of our drivers and the general public is of paramount importance and we welcome investment in motorways and major trunk roads that takes traffic off the smaller, single-lane country roads.

Tomorrow, the Chancellor will visit the A47, the A556 and the A585 to assess current improvement schemes.