SIR: The Government’s road strategy is based on a forecast traffic growth of between 29-59 per cent by 2050.

However, in order to achieve the UK Government’s climate commitment to deliver net zero emissions across the UK by 2050, the UK Government Climate Change Committee state that the UK needs a wholesale switch to zero emission vehicles and a reduction in average car usage of 17 per cent by 2050. In other words the Government’s road strategy is contradictory to their stated aim of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and achieving our climate commitments.

The M3 Junction 9 scheme is a one example of this muddled thinking. For the £175m cost, Highways England has estimated that the changes will result in around a 90-second saving in journey time. For the equivalent cost of this one scheme, the Government could build over 400 miles of high quality, dedicated cycle routes around Hampshire (equivalent to almost 10 per cent of Hampshire’s entire road network), which would help us all to use our cars less.

For the same cost as all the M3/M27 schemes that are currently in work, the Government could build over 1,500 miles of cycle routes around Hampshire. This is the equivalent of 30% of Hampshire’s entire road network and would enable a massive change in how we get around.

Just last week the Queen stated that we need to “change the way we do things” to combat climate change. More and more people are trying to do their bit. Isn’t it time that the Government helped?

Malcolm Wallace,

Green Party campaigner for Winchester & the Meon Valley,

Forest Road,

Swanmore