Stonehenge Tunnel and A27 scrapped by Chancellor

Aaron Morby 4 months ago
Share

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has axed the A303 Stonehenge Tunnel  and the A27 Arundel Bypass scheme in West Sussex in a bid to fix a £22bn black hole in the public finances.

Reeves revealed in Parliament on Monday that the previous government had committed to an overspend of £1.6bn in the transport budget this year.

The two routes have been sacrificed after Reeves claimed the Conservatives “made unfunded commitments knowing the money wasn’t there.”

She added that the initial cuts would not be enough to fix the country’s finances and “more difficult decisions would be needed.”

Reeves also cancelled the Restoring our Railways scheme to save £85m and promised a review of the October 2020 pledge to build 40 new hospitals by 2030.

Reeves said: “Only one hospital has opened and six started construction.

“There is nowhere close to the funding needed so we will carry-out a complete review of new hospital programme with a fully costed and realistic timetable for delivery.

“If we cannot afford it we cannot do it.”

Reeves confirmed her first Budget will be on October 30 and it will involve “difficult decisions across welfare, spending and tax.”

A consortium of Bam Nuttall, Aecom and Mace was awarded the A27 project back in 2021 with the aim of starting construction last year.

A long-running legal challenge has held-up the start of construction on the £1.7bn A303 Stonehenge Tunnel scheme where the three-way European MORE joint venture between Spanish contractor FCC, Italy’s WeBuild and Austria’s BeMo Tunnelling is lined-up as main contractor on the eight-mile stretch of road upgrade.

The FCC-led JV has enlisted Atkins, Jacobs and Spanish designer Sener as the design joint venture.

Costain and Mott MacDonald have been awarded the £60m contract to be the project’s Delivery Assurance Partner to help co-ordinate and oversee construction of the scheme.

The Treasury said: “These are low value, unaffordable commitments which would have cost £587 million next year.”

 

Latest news

Ridge buys rival consultant Jubb

Acquisition will see 100 new staff join Ridge
5 hours ago

Enabling works to start £130m Huyton town centre regen

Phase one includes a new council HQ, hotel and 72 flats
6 hours ago

Grainger build to rent pipeline rises to £1.4bn

Rental specialist buys sites in Sheffield and Cardiff to build 600 rental homes
6 hours ago

Kier wins Cambridgeshire County council estate upkeep

Firm will provide building and M&E services to 106 buildings across the county
5 hours ago

Louvres and solar shading specialist files for administration

Hampshire based ALPS lodges court notice after 25 years in business
6 hours ago

Speedy Hire posts a loss in latest results

Hire giant confident of better performance in next six months
6 hours ago

Esh to lead next phase of Riverside Sunderland regeneration

Infrastructure work will allow further development of Sheepfolds area
5 hours ago

Green light for £1.3bn Edinburgh coastal town revamp

First phase of Granton Waterfront scheme will see Cruden Homes create a new community
23 hours ago

Vistry chief operating officer steps down

Earl Sibley exits as his COO role axed for more direct reporting to CEO
1 day ago

House builder Camstead goes into administration

Work stopped on three current sites
2 days ago

Death of piling legend Roger Bullivant

Industry innovator dies after long illness aged 85
1 day ago

ESS Modular went down owing suppliers £7m

Modular specialist owned by ISG owner Cathexis
1 day ago

Builders back farmers in inheritance tax protest

"A rethink is desperately needed" say National Federation of Builders
1 day ago

Willmott Dixon wins £36m leisure centre upgrade

Work to start on historic Westminster 1930s Grade II listed Seymour Centre
1 day ago

Graham wins £100m Cardiff Crossrail phase 1

Work on route to Cardiff Bay to start before end of next year
2 days ago

Laing O’Rourke appoints new European MD

Peter Lyons to take-up new role in February
3 days ago

Profits dip at Stepnell ahead of demerger

Turnover and secured workloads up ahead of restructure
3 days ago

HS2 green bridge deck takes shape

100m-wide wildlife bridge to carry hedgerows and country lane over HS2
2 days ago

1,000-home Wolverhampton city centre scheme in for planning

ECF and council advance City Centre West build to rent scheme
3 days ago

Sisk clinches £54m North London council HQ revamp

Haringey's iconic Grade II listed civic centre to be brought back into use
3 days ago

Ofgem approves £2.5bn Eastern Green Link 1

Work to start next Spring on cable project from Scotland to the north of England
3 days ago

Anglian Water hunts for £1bn delivery partner

Programme delivery partner wil integrate with client team over 15-year plan
3 days ago

Hadden collapse costs supply chain £6.7m

"Highly unlikely" subcontractors will receive anything for their unpaid invoices
3 days ago

Management buyout at M&E specialist

£25m turnover Kimpton in second MBO in its 60-year history
3 days ago

BAM finalises £71m deal to replace first major RAAC school

Work to start on new St Leonards Catholic School in Durham
3 days ago

Scaffolder hit by two tonne weight at nuclear plant

Court hands out £633,000 in fines after Dungeness B decommissioning incident
3 days ago

Go-ahead for 860,000 sq ft East London medical campus

Whitechapel Road scheme of six new and repurposed buildings
3 days ago

Site labour rates hit record high as cost inflation returns

Industry's biggest payroll firm says rates rose nearly 5% last month in London
6 days ago

Morris & Spottiswood acquires part of ISG fit-out division

ISG Cathedral acquisition saves 111 jobs and expands presence across England
7 days ago

New work drives Q3 construction output uplift

Third quarter activity up 0.8% despite slowdown in September
6 days ago

Contractor services