New Stop the A38 Expansion Letter Writing Action & Campaign updates

[Mair Perkins]

Hi,

We have launched a letter writing action and would be very grateful if you could complete it and share it with your networks.

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/a38-expansion-a-harmful-road-scheme-with-a-collapsing-economic-case-write-to-decision-makers

Tailored letters go to MPs, ministers, the Treasury, the Public Accounts Committee, Derby City Council, and the East Midlands Mayor — the more people who write, the harder it is to ignore:

Recent wins and developments

• National Highways lost an ICO ruling on cost disclosure, appealed it, then withdrew under pressure in April 2026. The figures they tried to hide show they submitted £590 million and a benefit-cost ratio of just 1.1 to the government during the 2024 Spending Review — while the independent regulator had already recorded costs at £646 million. ICO Decision Notice: https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2025/12/ic-438853-p5q9/ — ORR cost monitoring data: https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-08/annual-assessment-of-national-highways-performance-2024-2025-web.pdf
  
  
• We have formally written to the National Audit Office requesting a Value for Money examination of the scheme
  
  
• The DfT confirmed an FOI response that no Accounting Officer Assessment — a standard Treasury requirement for large or unusual projects — has been initiated and no correspondence with the Treasury about one exists, on a scheme that has tripled in cost and lost its economic justification. 
  
  
• The government raised the GMPP threshold from £500 million to £1 billion in March 2026, quietly removing the A38 from mandatory independent oversight now the costs increased from £200-£250m to over £600m.  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-major-projects-portfolio
  
  
• National Highways told us in a Freedom of Information response that the Full Business Case would be ready by June 2026. With no contractor appointed and no tender issued, that deadline is days away and clearly implausible — a business case cannot be completed without knowing the final construction cost. FOI response: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/full_business_case_for_the_a38_d_2/response/2880545/attach/html/3/EIR2024%2001693%20Public%20Interest%20Test.pdf.html
  
  
• Official planning documents confirm National Highways told Derby City Council that worsening local road conditions are "an inevitable effect" of the scheme and the Council's problem to fund — not theirs. Statement of Common Ground (page 52): https://nsip-documents.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/published-documents/TR010022-000841-TR010022_A38_8.7_SoCG_Derby_City_Council.pdf — Derby City Council Local Highway Impact Report: https://nsip-documents.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/published-documents/TR010022-000814-DCiC%20LHIR.pdf

Construction is not until 2030. The economic case has collapsed. The A1 Northumberland dualling was cancelled when costs doubled and the BCR fell below 1.0 — the same trajectory this scheme is on. Road schemes can be stopped.