The government has pledged to use infrastructure to unite and level-up the UK.
As part of an update to how capital investment decisions are taken, changes have been announced to the way projects are appraised to support levelling up through the Green Book review.
In response, Transport for the North Chief Executive Barry White said: “The government’s review concludes what we have long said – that the way investment decisions are made need to change.
“Not only were the previous rules outdated and overly reliant on a formulaic cost-return calculation, but they would actively undermine the ambition to ‘level up’ poorer regions.
“The Green Book update could bring a fundamental change to the level of investment in the North.
“By focusing more on benefits to communities; how projects underpin key objectives like levelling up or decarbonisation; and how schemes can bring transformational change, is all extremely helpful.
“It means that decisions can be taken based more on the wider benefits that they’ll deliver for a town, city, or region, breaking the cycle of investment decisions automatically favouring the most prosperous areas of the UK such as London and the South East.”