The Rt Hon John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Transport, as part of a ‘new vision for roads and the architectural features on and around them’, has looked to history to help improve a dystopian present, as he called for the aesthetics and good design to be taken into account when planning new infrastructure and so ‘banish ugly design from new road schemes’.
The Minister referenced lessons from history – feats of Roman engineering and the 1970s novel Concrete Island by JG Ballard, as well as the value of learning lessons from the past in implementing and managing new schemes – in a speech marking his vision stating that ‘… today. Right here. Now, we have an opportunity. To banish ugly design from new road schemes. And make sure it never returns’
