Transport and growth: Reforming transport investment for place-based growth

Treasury processes, fiscal rules and appraisal frameworks – designed to control risk and manage spending – have too often become blockers to delivery rather than enablers of growth. Where these constraints have been addressed, the results are clear. Investment in major rail and public transit schemes has delivered strong economic and social returns, particularly when paired with local leadership.

The next phase of transport investment must move beyond centralised approval for individual projects and towards a place-based, delivery-focussed model. Mayors, working alongside local authorities and planners, are uniquely placed to do this.

This report argues for a shift from a system that asks whether we can afford to build, to one that asks how we can build more of what already works. The challenge now is to create the institutional and financial conditions that allow mayors and cities to build on that success – at scale, and at pace.