City cheer as £674m roads project is given go-ahead

A 674M project to improve Sheffield’s roads was given the go-ahead, ending fears that the scheme might be shelved.

The largest Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project in the country was spared Chancellor George Osborne’s axe, meaning upgrades to bridges, footways and roads in the city will now proceed as planned.

Sheffield politicians last night welcomed the news.

Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield Hallam MP Nick Clegg said: “I am delighted that the Government has been able to announce the great news for Sheffield that the PFI roads programme will go ahead.”

Mr Clegg conceded the withdrawal of an agreed 80m loan to the steelmaker Sheffield Forgemasters was a blow, but said the Government’s PFI pledge was a sign of its commitment to the region.

He added: “These kinds of substantial capital investments are a clear indication of this Government’s commitment to jobs and growth in Sheffield and across the North.”

The Liberal Democrat leader of Sheffield City Council, Paul Scriven, said: “This is the result of a lot of hard lobbying. I’m delighted that Liberal Democrats have managed to secure this new investment for Sheffield.

“Hundreds of millions of pounds will be poured into Sheffield to fix our roads and pavements which had been allowed to crumble under Labour. Not only will it banish our ‘pothole city’ tag, but it will create lots of local jobs in the process.”

The project, to take shape over the next 25 years, will improve road surfaces, footways and cycle paths as well as help fix bridges and street lighting. There will be upgrades to traffic signals, signs, street nameplates and road markings along with the planting of roadside trees and improved street cleaning.

Labour transport spokesman Harry Harpham said he was pleased the coalition Government had “seen sense” and agreed to fund the huge overhaul of Sheffield’s highways infrastructure.

He said: “Labour’s road improvement scheme will deliver repairs and maintenance to Sheffield’s roads for the next 25 years and I’m pleased the coalition Government have seen sense and gone ahead with this much-needed investment.”

The Comprehensive Spending Review also pledged funding to other key transport links in the region.

Commuters on the East Coast Mainline will benefit from 14bn to Network Rail for upgrades to stations and tracks, while the M1 will get a slice of 10bn of investment to ease congestion between junctions 28 and 31.

But Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn expressed fears that the Leeds trolleybus scheme had not been mentioned in the review.

He said: “The Chancellor was silent on the future of the Leeds trolleybus. This is ominous for the city. The trolleybus project is vital for our economic future.”