Carlton ReidApr 21, 2020,
The U.K. government’s £28.8 billion plan to expand Britain’s road network is set to be challenged by the same legal team which, in February, halted the Department for Transport’s plan to expand Heathrow.
The Court of Appeal ruled Heathrow expansion plans were illegal because the Department for Transport’s plans did not meet its obligations under the Paris climate agreement of 2015.
Lawyers acting for Transport Action Network (TAN) have asked the Department for Transport (DfT) and Highways England to scrap their five-year road building plan saying it breaches the government’s legally binding commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
At its launch alongside the budget in March, the Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2) was described by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as England’s “largest ever” roads program.
A commitment to ramp up spending on mainly strategic roads was a key manifesto pledge in the Conservative party’s general election campaign last year. RIS2 revealed that £25.3 billion would be spent on freeways and A-roads, and £3.5 billion was pledged for major local routes.
TAN, a new campaign group, claims the plan breaches climate and air quality laws, and they have charged solicitors Leigh Day to act on their behalf. The firm, in turn, has retained the services of David Wolfe QC of Matrix chambers and Pete Lockley of 11 KBW, the same legal team that was victorious for Friends of the Earth and others in the Heathrow case.
TAN director Chris Todd said: “How can the DfT claim to take climate change seriously when it is set to burn billions on the ‘largest ever roads program’ to make things worse?”
The campaign group will be launching a £38,000 crowdfunder on April 21 to pay for the legal challenge.
Legal Bid Launched To Stop U.K. Government’s £29 Billion Road Building Plans – Forb es
Carlton ReidApr 21, 2020, The U.K. government’s £28.8 billion plan to expand Britain’s road network is set to be challenged by the same legal team which, in February, halted the Department for Transport’s plan to expand Heathrow. The Court of Appeal ruled Heathrow expansion plans were illegal because the Department for Transport’s plans did not… [Read More]
