New roads may lead to job losses according to a report by government advisors.

SACTRA, the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment, was asked to comment on the traditional notion that new roads helped to regenerate run-down areas.

Its findings suggest that roads designed to bring jobs into areas of high unemployment can sometimes result in fewer employment opportunities.

The report goes further, suggesting that city centre jobs may be created by closing roads as reduced congestion could deliver a net benefit to the economy.

BBC Transport Correspondent Roger Harrabin details examples of recent road building in the light of SATRAC's report {'5 ''17).

It also points to the situation in rural areas where new highways appear to expose local firms to outside competition, eventually leading to an overall loss of jobs.

SACTRA is an influential technical committee. This is an interim report, but government sources suggest that it is likely to influence decisions on the White Papers on roads and transport due in May.

John Prescott promises radical reform.

John Prescott, the UK Deputy Prime Minister, is currently engaged in a consultative process on the future of the country's transport network.

He wants to find a way of easing the congestion of Britain's roads. Traffic jams are costing firms about £19bn each year, according to the Confederation of British Industry.

Mr Prescott promises that the forthcoming White Papers will be the "most radical contribution to meeting Britain's transport needs in a generation". It is thought he will try to move the emphasis away from roads to the rail network.

Reacting to the SACTRA findings, Transport Minister, Gavin Strang, said: "I think this is a vindication of what Ministers have been saying, that the days when building a new road was the first option are gone.

"The fact of the matter is that we cannot tackle our traffic problems by building new roads"
 

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