Petition FUTURE OF MOTORWAYS AND TRUNK ROADS IN ENGLAND

We believe that the proposal to pass control of the strategic road network of England to a “Strategic Highways Company” outside the direct oversight of parliament is a precursor to its privatisation.

The network has been valued at £111bn and would be a prize capture for foreign sovereign wealth funds, as has the nation's water companies. The new owners – whoever they may be - will inevitably want to sweat their asset by the imposition of road tolls.

The Infrastructure Bill currently before parliament would allow this to happen.

This would be to the detriment of motorists, the environment and local communities affected by traffic diverting to avoid tolls.

We reject this attempt to introduce road-tolling by the back door and demand the government do not change the Highways Agency into one or more strategic highway companies.