Following publication of the Outline Transport Strategy, England's Economic Heartland is engaging with a wide variety of people, businesses and organisations about how the transport system can help achieve transformational economic growth, while also securing environmental 'net gain' and improving residents' quality of life.
Stretching from Swindon to Cambridgeshire and from Northamptonshire to Hertfordshire, England’s Economic Heartland, the Sub-national Transport Body of the region, brings political and business leaders together in a strategic collaborative partnership with a shared commitment to realise the economic potential of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and surrounding areas.
The event will be an exclusive chance for CIHT members to record their input into England's Economic Heartland’s Outline Transport Strategy. Views expressed during the various workshops will be a major input into the period of engagement. The event will be run as a workshop with themed ‘roundtables’ with a facilitator on each table who leads the discussion and records outputs from the ensuing discussion on a flipchart.
9.45am: Registration and Refreshments
10.15am: Welcome and introductions
10.25am: England's Economic Heartland: Overview and background
CIHT President and EEH Programme Director Martin Tugwell providing context for EEH, including its history, objectives and geography.
10.35am: The Outline Transport Strategy
EEH Head of Technical Programme, Naomi Green, talks through the key themes of the Outline Transport Strategy.
11am: Round one workshops
Choice of a) Strategic Vision or b) Delivery and Investment
The draft vision for England’s Economic Heartland is ‘connecting people and places with opportunities and services’, with a three priority principles of enabling economic growth; accessibility and inclusion; and quality of life and environment. In addition, the Outline Transport Strategy suggests that the region’s transport system should be zero-carbon by 2050. The workshop will explore whether the draft vision gives sufficient focus, if the carbon-neutral target is sufficiently challenging, and whether the three key principles provide an appropriate framework within which to develop the overarching strategy.
Central to achieving our ambition for the Heartland will be investment in infrastructure and services that form our transport system. This workshop will explore how a programme of investment in strategic infrastructure and services can be funded – and how we ensure our investment choices provide everyone with the opportunity to realise their potential. And it will consider how the investment programme should be delivered in partnership with the public and private sectors.
12pm: Lunch and networking
1pm: Round two workshops
Choice of a) Connecting People or b) Connecting Places
If we are to realise our ambition for the region then the transport system must have the needs of people and businesses at its core – offering high quality, sustainable journeys which integrate seamlessly with longer distance modes; in short, a model of frictionless travel from . This workshop will discuss:
Investment in strategic transport corridors will be an essential component of the overarching transport strategy, complementing the investment made in improving the beginning and end of journeys. This workshop will consider:
2pm: Tea break and Future Visions walk-around
A short walk-around session, giving delegates the chance to comment on the four ‘Future Vision’ images contained within the Outline Transport Strategy. These perspectives show how scenes that are familiar across the region today might be transformed in the future
The four perspectives explore the following:
High Street: What role can the transport system play in rejuvenating town centres by offering safer, greener and more attractive places for people to enjoy, ensuring High Streets remain a central hub for urban communities?
New Housing Development: Transport plays a key role in realising thriving new and expanded communities. The design of new homes brings the opportunity for innovation – so how do we ensure we make the most of this opportunity, rather than simply repeating the mistakes of the past?
Business Park: The default, and sometimes only way of commuting to business parks is often by car, leading to vast areas of space given up for parking. What if we can reduce reliance on commuting by car? And how should we best utilise the space that’s been reclaimed from car parks?
Rural setting: Many smaller communities feel increasingly ‘cut off’ from nearby amenities, and often feel the only transport available to them is by car. So what are the potential solutions, from ‘demand led transport’ and use of emerging technologies, to encouraging use of village hubs and active travel.
2.30pm: Round three workshops
Choice of a) Connecting Opportunities or b) Connecting Services
The move towards e-commerce, changes in consumer behaviour and society’s increasing expectations to acquire commodities ‘just in time’ means that EEH has to plan for a physical and digital network that evolves in a way that provides smooth access to goods, services and amenities for people.
3.30pm: Final remarks
3.45pm: Close
119 Britannia Walk
N1 7JE
London
Venue and travel information below including details on:
Accessibility into and around the venue
Car Parking & Congestion Zone & T-Charge
Cycle Parking & Cycle Hire
Got a question?
t: +44 (0)20 7336 1555
e: info@ciht.org.uk