Transport minister John Hayes has launched a drive to tackle ‘ugly’ roads across the UK. In an unusual lecture organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Campaign for Better Transport, the minister said that future road designs may have to win a design panel’s approval prior to construction.

Mr Hayes used the opportunity to speak out against what he described as the “sub-standard, ubiquitous, drab, cheap, soul-sapping design” common to most of the UK’s roads.

He added: “I don’t believe in gold-plating, but I do believe in green-plating.”

His ideas include extra green spaces around motorways, and integrating beauty into the design process from the outset. Key to the process would be a design panel issued with a set of guidelines to help architects and other planners.

Mr Hayes previously opposed onshore wind turbines on aesthetic grounds when he worked at the Department of Energy & Climate Change.