£300m extra funding pledged for infrastructure in Budget

The chancellor unveiled £300m of extra funding for infrastructure projects as part of the Budget.

An extra £200m will be invested in regional railways – with schemes in Manchester and Swindon set to be the biggest beneficiaries.

Manchester’s two largest train stations, Victoria and Piccadilly, will be connected by an £85m direct train link.

An estimated £50m will be spent redoubling the rail line between Swindon and Kemble.

Local authorities will also receive an additional £100m to repair winter potholes on top of February’s initial government injection of £100m.

In response to record oil prices Osborne announced the government will cut the cost of fuel by 1p with a Fair Fuel Stabiliser being implemented to keep costs down in the future. Funds for the FFS will come from an increased levy on oil and gas production.

Alasdair Reisner, director of external affairs CECA, said: “There was some nice surprises in this budget. The announcement of a two-year forward programme of publicly funded infrastructure projects represents a huge victory for the industry, which has long campaigned for greater clarity over future opportunities.”