Driven to despair waiting for road improvements

Nine out of 10 of businesses told a survey that major schemes take too many years to materialise, while nearly three-quarters said they were too bureaucratic in their design and implementation.

Nearly nine out of 10 said that they had experienced a negative impact because of deficiencies in the region's transport infrastructure, including lost man-hours and increased operating costs.

The survey asked businesses which aspects of the rail network were priorities for improvement, including value for money on rail fares, improved car parking at stations and better links between regional cities.

Richard Kendall, of the chamber, said: "Almost all businesses depend on the transport network in some way, so congestion and delays to improvement schemes are a major concern.

"Transport budgets are already under pressure and our fear is that they will be an easy target for cuts after the election.

"While most businesses support the long-term development of High Speed Rail, it is no substitute for investing in our existing transport infrastructure.

"We have already waited too long for critical improvements to roads like the A63 Castle Street in Hull and A160 to Immingham. For our economy to grow it is essential that these schemes are not delayed any longer.

"There is strong support for making the operators of foreign lorries pay towards the upkeep of our roads, which would help our local freight companies to compete with them on a level playing field.

"This is an issue that we will be taking up with the new Government after the election."