LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out plans on Tuesday to try to spur Britain’s economy, promising to fast-track 5 billion pounds ($6.15 billion) of infrastructure investment and to “build, build, build” out of the coronavirus crisis.
In a speech, Johnson set out a vision where the government could cut through red tape to speed up construction and infrastructure projects to kickstart the economy and to “level up” Britain, where wealth and opportunity is unevenly spread.
Here are some of the areas where Johnson outlined his plans. Several have been announced previously but are being brought online more quickly.
HOMES
Johnson unveiled new planning rules on Tuesday to boost the number of homes and allow commercial premises to be repurposed more easily.
HOSPITALS
Johnson pledged 1.5 billion pounds this year for hospital maintenance, eradicating mental health dormitories, enabling hospital building and improving Accident and Emergency capacity.
ROADS AND RAIL
Johnson pledged 100 million pounds this year for 29 projects in the road network, from bridge repairs in Sandwell to boosting the quality of the A15 in the Humber region. Plus 10 million pounds for development work to unblock the Manchester rail bottleneck, which will begin this year.
SCHOOLS
Johnson pledged more than 1 billion pounds to fund the first 50 projects of a new, 10-year school rebuilding programme, starting from 2020-21. These projects will be confirmed in the Autumn, and construction on the first sites will begin from September 2021.
He also announced 560 million pounds and 200 million pounds for repairs and upgrades to schools and further education colleges respectively this year.
“SHOVEL READY” PROJECTS
He pledged 900 million pounds for a range of “shovel ready” local growth projects in England over the course of this year and next, as well as 96 million pounds to accelerate investment in town centres and high streets through the Towns Fund this year. This will provide all 101 towns selected for town deals with between 500,000 and 1 million pounds to spend on projects such as improvements to parks, high streets, and transport
ENVIRONMENT
Johnson also recommitted to reforest Britain by planting over 75,000 acres of trees every year by 2025.
He pledged 40 million pounds to boost local conservation projects and create 3,000 jobs, including new Conservation Rangers, and safeguard 2,000 – training young people and others in the community.
In his speech, he also said Britain should aim at producing the world’s first zero emission long-haul jet plane.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by William James)
