
One of George Osborne’s key economic stimulus programmes involves the delivery of infrastructure projects.
They have the potential to boost the economy through the delivery of the actual projects, as well as enabling the country to enjoy the fruits of labour that will improve our digital connectivity and energy resources. Having negotiated my way through gridlocked motorways and pot-holed riddled streets to get into work each morning, I think the roads have to be top of the list! Building toll motorways, such as the existing M6 toll and the planned billion pound development of the M4 in South Wales, are fine as far as delivering an economy-boosting infrastructure project that receives tolls to ensure its upkeep; however, we have to address our existing, crumbling road network too.Okay, so it’s a little bit of a silly story, but if it takes a month for a box to be delivered through Tfl’s internal mail system, what hope have our roads got? I’m not against the Congestion Charge. It has made people think twice about driving into London and that makes it easier for my vans to get across town to reach our customers. However, these systems have to be better administered to make sure the majority of income they generate is literally turned into tarmac and concrete. I’d urge any town or city that looks to implementing congestion charges: do it for the right reasons. Put infrastructure investment over revenue generation. Good, reliable roads make it much easier to do business and an effective transport system is vital to the country’s economy. Charlie Mullins is founder and CEO of Pimlico Plumbers.
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