FTA urges Highways England to invest in UK road network

The Fleet Transport Association (FTA) is urging Highways England to invest in its motorways and major A roads to better support Britain’s freight industry.

FTA’s comments came in response to a recent Transport Focus survey, which called into question Highways England’s approach to road maintenance and seemed to show a decrease in satisfaction from those traversing the road network in their everyday working lives. While 52% of survey respondents felt satisfied with the state of the nation’s road network, many businesses don’t feel their needs are being taken into account and poor road surfaces are beginning to take a toll on the bottom line.

“While the survey shows some positive indicators, of concerns are the core areas which must be improved,” said Christopher Snelling, Head of UK Policy at FTA. “This includes delays in opening roads swiftly following an incident or in sharing adequate information on real time road updates. With the UK’s roads set to receive £30Bn in funding, as announced in this week’s Budget, FTA is asking Highway England to take urgent action to address the common concerns facing logistics businesses.

“The logistics industry is the beating heart of the UK economy. For it to continue to operate effectively, it needs a road network fully maintained and adapted to meet the needs of logistics businesses. With key areas of improvement identified in this report, and the benefit of a funding boost, FTA hopes Highway England carefully listens to this feedback and takes urgent action to rectify the problems which are stifling the efficient movement of goods and services by the UK’s logistics industry.”

Efficient logistics are essential to the UK economy. According to FTA, the sector directly impacts more than seven million people in the making, selling and movement of goods. As Brexit threatens to change the way goods are moved across borders and through the supply chain, logistics have never been more important to UK plc.

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