Highways England is launching a new initiative in the North West after over 40,000 sacks of litter had to be collected from motorways in the region last year – an average of 108 sacks for every mile of motorway.

New signs are being trialled with the message ‘Workers lives are put at risk picking your litter’ and extra litter picking patrols are being carried out to help tackle the issue.

Newly-released CCTV footage shows a lorry driver discarding an oil container at the side of the M62 near Rochdale after pulling over to the hard shoulder to add oil to his vehicle’s engine.

Drivers are being urged to keep their rubbish with them rather than leaving it at the roadside, risking the lives of the workers who have to collect it.

The footage is available to watch here:

Paul Cooper, 46 from Bolton, has been collecting litter from motorways for 19 years as part of his job as a maintenance team supervisor for Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald. Paul’s other duties include filling potholes, repairing safety barriers and clearing drains. He said:

I think most drivers who sling litter out their windows don’t really think about what they’re doing, and that someone like me has to come along and clear up after them.

It tends to be worst on slip roads or where there’s standing traffic, as that’s when drivers seem to decide to have a clear out of their cars.

There’s always an element of risk when you’re working on the network as you’re near traffic so my message to drivers is please stop dropping litter and take it home with you instead.

It costs taxpayers an estimated £40 for each sack of litter collected from motorways – roughly the same cost as fixing a pothole.

Litter poses a risk to other drivers if it lands on windscreens, causes a threat to wildlife and leads to flooding if drains become blocked so litter picking is regularly carried out across the network.

Paul Elliott, Service Delivery Team Leader at Highways England, said:

Our teams of workers do a fantastic job removing litter from motorways every year but we’d much rather they were able to spend more of their time carrying out maintenance work.

Litter has to be collected close to fast-moving traffic – putting our workers at risk – and lane closures are often needed, causing needless disruption to drivers.

We’ll have extra patrols out on the network over next few weeks to target areas where litter regularly builds up, and we’re encouraging drivers to help do their bit by saving their litter for the bin.

Earlier this year, the government launched a consultation on proposals to almost double fines for dropping litter to £150. Under the proposed new measures, vehicle owners could also receive penalty notices when it can be proved litter was thrown from their car – even if it was discarded by somebody else.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

The UK government has today announced the location of a new hub at New Waverley, Edinburgh, which will deliver significant growth to the city by moving 2,900 civil servants into the city centre premises in 2020.

The new hub will:

• contribute to the creation of a modern Civil Service – with fit-for-purpose workspaces, cross-departmental collaboration, smarter technology, and enhanced career opportunities;
• demonstrate the government’s commitment to engaging with and supporting the local Edinburgh community;
• contribute to growth in Edinburgh, as the largest office prelet in the city for over 20 years;
• create a centre of excellence for the delivery of public services in Scotland and facilitate more effective working between government departments within a devolved administration;

The UK government will take approximately 190,000 square feet at New Waverley Edinburgh, with a lease commitment of at least 20 years. This hub will continue to strengthen the government’s commitment to building a strong Civil Service outside London.

The new development, adjacent to Waverley Station, will deliver grade A offices to be occupied by civil servants from several UK Government departments. This includes HMRC who will operate one of its 13 regional centres from New Waverley.

The hub will provide high quality, skilled jobs to the city centre, as well as contributing to the local economy. The UK government intends to develop strong links with those living and working locally and for the Hub to become a valuable asset to the local area.

Relocating civil servants from existing, often fragmented office locations, to modern, cross-departmental workplaces maximises efficiency by using space more effectively and encourages collaboration across departments.

The location of the Edinburgh hub has been chosen due to its exceptional public transport connections to the rest of Scotland and the UK.

Minister Caroline Nokes said:

This new flagship building is part of our radical upgrade of the Civil Service and will support our diverse and creative workforce as they make a real difference to the lives of people in Scotland. This landmark development will deliver significant benefits to Edinburgh and the communities within it.

Alongside significant savings for the taxpayer, the roll out of government hubs will provide modern working environments across the whole of the UK that will enable us to provide the best public services we can.

HMRC Chief Executive, Jon Thompson, said:

Locating HMRC’s new regional centre for Edinburgh in the New Waverley development is another step in HMRC’s transformation, into a modern, digitally-advanced tax authority. HMRC will bring its teams together to promote closer working relationships, and increasing our effectiveness in collecting taxes.

The UK Government Property Unit, as part of its remit to drive savings across the UK government estate, is overseeing the deal for the new Hub.

A proposed multi-million pound upgrade to the busy Redbridge roundabout near Southampton docks is a step closer today (Tuesday 11 July 2017) after Highways England published the results of a recent public consultation.

The scheme includes the creation of a new free flow left turn lane from the M271 to the Port of Southampton. The roundabout will also be widened on the southern side from Southampton to create four lanes and increase the capacity of the roundabout. Crossings for pedestrians and cyclists will be improved, with an additional Toucan crossing added, a footbridge will be replaced and a subway to the north of the junction will be refurbished.

Highways England Project Manager Joe Clark said:

I would like to thank everyone who took part in our consultation to improve Redbridge roundabout. This has provided a useful insight into the decision of our preferred route. It is clear from the wide range of opinions that have been collected from the public that improvements are necessary and we will use these comments to ensure that a suitable design can be achieved which best meet the objectives of the scheme.

Councillor Jacqui Rayment, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment on Southampton City Council, said:

I am pleased that Highways England have modified their plans and residents views have been taken into account. We welcome investment into our roads network and any scheme to improve the roads even though it causes disruption and delays will be all worthwhile in the end.

A public consultation was held from 9 November to 16 December 2016, and generated 184 responses. A copy of the consultation report can be found on the Highways England website, along with a summary of the preferred route.

More than three quarters of people taking part in the consultation agreed that congestion at the roundabout was an issue and that pedestrian and cyclist facilities needed upgrading. The consultation collected a wide range of opinions on the proposed upgrade, which will now all be considered by the project team as they develop a detailed design for the improvements.

Anyone interested in the scheme can sign up to receive updates via the project page on the Highways England website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

The Environment Agency is minded to approve application for an environmental permit at Horse Hill oil and gas exploratory site in Surrey.

The Scotland Office has announced that Director Francesca Osowska will be leaving the department later this year.