Thinktank IPPR North warns gulf in investment between regions is at cost of greater northern productivity

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

More than half of the UK’s total spending on transport networks is invested in London, research has found, prompting warnings of “chronic underinvestment” in northern infrastructure projects.

The gulf in transport infrastructure investment between London and the rest of England is set to get worse, according to the analysis by the thinktank IPPR North, with £1,943 being spent per person in London on current or planned projects compared with just £427 in the north.

Researchers found that Yorkshire and the Humber would get just £190 per head, the north-east £220, and the north-west £680 for transport from 2016/17 onwards, averaging out at £427 per head for the region.

The report’s author, Grace Blakeley, said: “It currently takes longer to travel by train from Liverpool to Hull than from London to Paris. Building better links between the north’s cities will boost the nation’s economy by driving up northern productivity.

“The spending gap between London and the north remains huge but this is about more than money. The north needs to take back control over transport spending too, to sensibly invest in a range of northern infrastructure projects, and unlock more potential.”

The report states that chronic public underinvestment is the root cause of problems with the road and rail networks in the north. It cites Transport for London as an example of a public sector body that has successfully used borrowing to finance infrastructure projects.

The capital’s new east-west rail line, Crossrail, will cost £4.7bn from 2016/17, whereas the total for every transport project in the north is £6.6bn.

But north-west England does appear to be benefiting from the “northern powerhouse” project, with investment of £680 per head – more than any English region outside London.

This is due to long-term projects such as improving the north-west quadrant of the M60 motorway and the Northern Hub rail scheme, which could be the precursor for an east-west HS3 high-speed rail line, the report says.

The figures are based on a government list of national infrastructure projects with public or private funding that are either under construction or are in the pipeline.

IPPR North’s director Ed Cox said: “There is a long, long way to go to rebalance the UK but these figures suggest we’re seeing the green shoots of the northern powerhouse idea being more than mere bluster.

“We must however make more progress like this if we want to see spades in the ground any time soon.”

The report says that between 2011/12 and 2015/16, public spending on transport in the capital averaged £725 per head, compared with £352 across the country. “This imbalance looks set to get even worse,” the study concludes.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We are investing £13bn to improve transport across the north to improve journeys for local people, help industry grow and boost productivity. Transport for the North is working with councils to develop a northern transport strategy, to benefit the region as a whole.”

The report says the stark contrast could be alleviated if bodies such as Transport for the North could fund a new high-speed rail service between northern cities, including via new northern infrastructure bonds.

Last month Theresa May launched her industrial strategy green paper in the north-west, stressing her commitment to the northern powerhouse programme started by George Osborne.

An independent study of the north’s untapped potential in 2016 set out how new investments including HS3 could unlock up to £97bn and create 850,000 new jobs by 2050.

The study also notes that Britain lags behind other major economies on transport investment, with lower spending levels than Germany, France and the US.