During a Westminster debate, MP Andy MacNae championed improved transport infrastructure for smaller towns, addressing walking, bus services, roadworks, and rail links, while criticizing the exclusion of Rossendale's railway project from regional plans and the Green Book's restrictive criteria.
MP Andy MacNae, a former Rossendale councillor, highlighted critical transport challenges facing smaller towns during a special Westminster debate. He emphasized the need for actions to increase the number of children walking to school , accelerate disruptive roadworks, and enhance bus and train services.
MacNae criticized the new Lancashire Combined County Authority for excluding Rossendale's City-Valley railway initiative from its plans but expressed hope for change. He urged major bodies like Northern Powerhouse Rail, which has concentrated on Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds corridors, to incorporate smaller towns into their strategies.
Additionally, he condemned London-based civil servants for their strict application of the 'Green Book' spending criteria, which he argued disadvantages smaller transport projects.
"This is about the everyday journeys that define people's lives," MacNae stated. "How they get from their front door to work, school, the shop or doctor. We must begin with empowering people to walk, wheel or cycle. Too many people feel they have to rely on a car even for the shortest journeys.
They need safe, accessible, well-designed environments.
" On school travel, he pointed out a stark disparity: only 30 percent of children in smaller towns walk or cycle to school compared to around 60 percent in cities, illustrating an inequality of opportunity. While praising initiatives like Living Streets' collaboration with Blackburn with Darwen Council as evidence of progress, he noted that good practice remains too inconsistent.
He cited the case of Bacup, where an 11-year-old's petition for a zebra crossing was rejected by Lancashire County Council due to insufficient casualty statistics, calling the council's reluctance to work proactively with the school "entirely alien" and urging reconsideration. Regarding bus services, MacNae stressed they should be treated as a public service rather than a purely commercial venture, welcoming the government's continuation of the £3 fare cap and £1 billion annual investment to support routes.
He highlighted government plans to empower communities to assume control of bus operations and require councils to identify "socially necessary" routes. He described cross-border services between Lancashire and Greater Manchester as patchy or vanished, referencing Edgworth's reliance on Bolton facilities despite historical funding obstacles caused by council boundaries.
However, he noted positive shifts, such as a study finally backing a new Blackburn with Darwen bus route, which should be enabled by government funding. On roadworks, MacNae announced that councils now have 'lane rental' powers to charge contractors up to £2,500 daily for road closures, a tool that can reduce congestion on key routes. He called on Lancashire County Council and others to urgently deploy these powers to mitigate the blight of prolonged disruptions.
For railways, he underscored Rossendale's unique status as the only northern borough without a direct rail link to Manchester, merely 15 miles away, despite the existing line. He described the council's City-Valley link proposal as credible and meticulously developed yet repeatedly sidelined by a rigid interpretation of Green Book guidance. The debate, attended by MPs nationwide and local transport minister Simon Lightwood, sought to amplify the transport needs of smaller communities
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