In 2015 CIHT’s 18 UK Branches were restructured to 12 Regions to match the boundaries of the Devolved Nations and the English Regions. CIHT has a long and valuable history in this region as The East Midland and the East Anglia Branches which merged to become CIHT East of England.
A Short History of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation East Midland Branch...
The driving force behind the formation of the Branch was H.S. Taylor, known as ‘Bill’, who was at the time the County Surveyor of the Isle of Ely. The Branch was born out of the need to serve a growing membership in Peterborough, Cambridge and the adjacent Fen areas, which in 1960 was served by meetings of the Midland or East Anglian Branches held in Nottingham, Leicester and Birmingham to the west or Norwich and Ipswich to the East. None of these places was particularly convenient especially for evening meetings.
Bill therefore sought permission from the then Institution of Highway Engineers and, as he was required also to do in those days, from the Chairman of the surrounding Branches, who would be required to cede territory to the new Branch. Formalities completed, Mr N.W.Jenson, the then Institution Secretary granted permission for a Branch to be formed covering:
“… the counties of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, of Bedfordshire north east of a line running from the Southern junction of the Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire boundary due west of Hitchin, and including those parts of Hertfordshire and Essex north of a line running from the last named point to Maldon on the Blackwater Estuary, and west of a line from West Mersea through Colchester to the Suffolk boundary”!!
Such a degree of geographical precision must have made the Institution thankful for the introduction of the postcode!
The original 12 man Branch Committee comprised, amongst others, a Divisional Road Engineer, a City Engineer and no less than five County Surveyors, titles redolent of a past era in highway engineering. This early information on the Branch has been taken from a detailed history produced by Bill Taylor in 1980 to mark the 20th Anniversary. It records that the first Committee meeting was held at the George Hotel in Huntingdon followed by luncheon, the cost of which included 3 bottles of wine at £8 6s 6d, although after that the normal venue became the lounge bar of the Lion Hotel at Buckden, usually followed by a good lunch.
The history also contains many insights into times gone by in the Institution and, for example, reports on a visit to the construction work on the M1 in 1961 which was attended by 53 members and guests. This, at a time when Branch membership had not reached 100. In fact the larger proportion of meetings in those early days consisted of site visits. In 1966 three were held and the average attendance was 55.
In the early seventies there were still a large number of site visits, many of which were well attended outings to a variety of construction sites including the Humber Bridge, Rutland Water and the ill-fated Tracked Hovercraft. It was noted, however, in 1977 that attendances for the outdoor meetings were disappointing although the evening meetings continued to be well supported. By 1980, the Branch membership had grown to 275.
The boundaries of the Branch have altered little since those early days, and it still serves the four main population centres of Cambridge, Peterborough, Northampton and Bedford. However, each of those areas has undergone considerable change throughout our 50 year history. Cambridge has emerged from being a somewhat sleepy centre of academia to a thriving city surrounded by ‘high-tec’ industry to which the title ‘Silicon Fen’ has often been applied. Northampton and Peterborough were transformed through the seventies and early eighties by their ‘New Town’ status, taking full advantage of their proximity to excellent transport corridors.
The transport network in our area has always benefitted form a strong north / south communication links provided by the M1 and the A1. These were further strengthened by the improvement to the Peterborough section of the A1 to Motorway standard. During the 90s the almost non-existent east-west communications were improved by the A14 construction linking the Midlands with the East Coast. This has encouraged considerable industrial and residential developments along its length. It has, in many ways, been the victim of its own success as anyone who has experienced its congestion, particularly in the Cambridge area, will testify.
More recently the completion of the A428/A421 link between Black Cat roundabout on the A1 to the M1 at Junction 13 has further improved that corridor and provided Bedford in particular with a major opportunity to benefit from the improved access.
Like the transport network, the Branch must develop and adapt to changing times. Over recent years, the number of trade conferences available has swamped the market and, very unfortunately, our once incredibly popular and successful Cambridge conference became a victim of this inundation. Previous Conferences have formed the centrepieces of the two Presidential Conferences when Mike Kendrick and Mike Sharpe were Presidents. The 50th Jubilee and the changing situation in the Industry prompted the Branch Committee to take stock of how it how was to continue to meet its objectives and to maintain the engagement of its 400 plus members. This has been achieved through the introduction of our new format for the annual programme of meetings, while maintaining the ever popular and successful annual November training event.
Over the years since the first formal Branch Committee meeting on the 16 June 1960, the East Midland Branch has established itself as one of the most successful branches in the country. The success of the annual schedule of conferences, training days, meetings, site visits and social events has enabled the Branch to more than fulfil its objectives and to be the leading branch contributor to the Institution’s main accounts at Head Quarters.
It provides its members with training and the opportunity to debate, discuss, and promote/raise matters of interest or concern in the industry. It also provides the platform for members to get to know one another and establish friendships across organisations and companies.
Golf features twice a year with the spring golf day and the Robin Martin Cup. Each year the Branch golf team competes for the Locan Cup in the CIHT’s national competition.
Unlike some Branches, our Chairman only serves a one-year term of office. This was an early decision made by Bill Taylor, to ensure that all who wanted to could have a turn in the chair. This was largely prompted by the then very strong list of candidates in the first Committee and we are indeed fortunate that this trend continues today. The Branch continues to succeed through changing times in the industry. It has also adapted well to the changing requirements of the membership and we are confident it will continue to meet future challenges.
Branch History
The Branch was founded in 1951 and in 2015 has over 470 members. The geographical area covers Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, with a dedicated committee and representatives from each county.
The Branch always provideded a wide variety of events, and activities for the members and for the benefit of the industry and to sharing best practice.
