Wessex Partnership: Net Zero Corridors

Theme:

Corridor and place-based decarbonisation.

Local authorities:

Somerset Council, Hampshire County Council and Cornwall Council.

Overview:

This project helps to make the roads in Somerset, Cornwall, and Hampshire cleaner and better. Funding from the Department for Transport is utilised to trial new ideas and technology that can help with reducing Carbon. This project aims to consider people and the planet throughout. The goal is to create better roads, use resources wisely, and get local people involved, making life better for everyone.

Project description:

The Net Zero Corridors Live Lab will pioneer the UK’s first net zero emission roads in Somerset, Cornwall and Hampshire in nine ‘Net Zero Corridors’, which will act as a proxy for maintenance on all highways. 

The diverse networks of these local authorities (including geographies, contracting models and material access) will ensure findings are representative of highway maintenance on each local authority road ecosystem. Using an iterative process, we will progressively decarbonise maintenance across the whole asset lifecycle. Corridors will be a test bed for innovation, circular solutions and new ways of thinking.

Our approach will be underpinned by the Doughnut Economics Model, a framework that balances environmental and social needs to ensure wider impacts (such as on levelling up) are understood. Our consortium of partners will be open and collaborative, enabling the transformation of services on roads and other sectors globally.

Project value:

£5.1m.