Pipeline of investment plan for Economic Heartland
ENGLAND’S Economic Heartland (EEH) has launched its Draft Transport Strategy for the region, which stretches from Swindon to Cambridgeshire, and is engaging with stakeholders before publishing a final version of the document.
Now subject to formal consultation until October 6, the strategy sets out how the regional transport system can support sustainable economic growth while also reaching net zero carbon emissions by no later than 2050.
It includes a pipeline of investment for the next 30 years that EEH says is needed to improve connectivity and to enable the region to fulfil its economic potential.
The organisation says that the pipeline is fully underpinned by evidence from a series of connectivity and technical studies it has carried out into areas such as freight, decarbonisation and integrated transport.
According to the National Infrastructure Commission, the region’s £150 billion economy (which is a global hub for science and technology businesses) could double or even triple in size and up to a million new homes could be delivered if the right interventions are made.
These include the East West Rail project to reinstate the former Varsity Line from Cambridge to Oxford, which closed as a through route in 1967.
As well as maximising the potential of EWR, the strategy also endorses several other rail schemes - including the extension of Midland Main Line electrification from its current northern limit at Kettering and Corby, and eventual electrification of the Chiltern
Main Line between London and Birmingham.
EEH would also like to see capacity increased on strategic freight corridors, such as FelixstoweNuneaton and Southampton-West Midlands, and mass transit systems to be delivered in both Cambridge and Milton Keynes.
Other measures aimed at reducing reliance on private cars, cutting emissions and increasing people’s ability to work from home are also advocated - including investment in digital infrastructure to enhance connectivity in rural areas, investment in active travel such as walking and cycling, and the greater electrification of road infrastructure.
EEH Strategic Transport Forum Chairman and Bedford Mayor Dave Hodgson said: “From the trialling of autonomous vehicles through to the use of delivery robots, our region is at the global forefront of developing the future of mobility with cleaner, smarter technologies.
“Our strategy seeks to harness this world-leading innovation to be the foundation for a green recovery from the current [Coronavirus] crisis and use this as the springboard for sustainable long-term growth.”
EEH Programme Director Martin Tugwell added: “The COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder that we need to be comfortable challenging some received wisdoms when it comes to the future of transport, and to invest differently and embed different behaviours to deliver sustainable growth.
“We now have a moment in time to try and shape our future, and this is a chance for the region to help. We need and want to hear that voice.”
As part of the consultation, EEH is also seeking views on becoming a statutory sub-national transport body
Responses can be submitted online by visiting: https:// yourvoicebucks.citizenspace. com/englands-economicheartland/transport-strategyconsultation-2020/