{"id":54771,"date":"2015-03-05T15:57:34","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T15:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=e57da0b26fa1e18c0e694ff0e70a5b4c"},"modified":"2015-03-05T15:57:34","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T15:57:34","slug":"speech-national-vision-local-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=54771","title":{"rendered":"Speech: National vision, local solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Good afternoon everyone.<\/p>\n

And thank you for that welcome.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m delighted to join you today (4 March 2015) for this debate on sustainable transport.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a debate that involves every layer of government from town hall to Whitehall.<\/p>\n

A debate that affects every community across the country.<\/p>\n

And a debate that concerns anyone who has an interest in building a stronger and greener Britain.<\/p>\n

But I think the concept of sustainability has particular resonance in places like the Peak District.<\/p>\n

A national park of outstanding beauty, yet also an area that requires excellent transport links to keep local communities connected, and to meet the needs of millions of visitors each year.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019d like to thank you for inviting me to speak today.<\/p>\n

Let me start with my ultimate vision for sustainable transport.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really very simple.<\/p>\n

I want to render it obsolete as a phrase as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

I believe all transport should be sustainable.<\/p>\n

And everything we do as legislators and planners must move us closer to that goal.\t<\/p>\n

To me, sustainable travel means finding a balance between our mobility needs, our economic needs, and the needs of our communities and society.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s unsustainable is increasing gridlock on our roads, rising carbon and local emissions, spending beyond our means, or failing to take action to balance growth and prosperity across the country.<\/p>\n

The debate isn\u2019t whether we support sustainable transport.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s how fast and how effectively we embrace it.<\/p>\n

And that depends to a large extent on you.<\/p>\n

Because the days of prescriptive, top-down government are over.<\/p>\n

We will continue down the path of devolution.<\/p>\n

Giving local areas the power and the resources to make their own decisions.<\/p>\n

So government won\u2019t decide where to invest.<\/p>\n

You will.<\/p>\n

And devolution will be particularly beneficial for sustainable transport.<\/p>\n

Because the vast majority of the journeys we make in this country are local in nature.<\/p>\n

Two-thirds are under 5 miles.<\/p>\n

In other words, journeys that can be cycled, walked, or taken by bus – precisely the sort of travel that we\u2019re discussing today.<\/p>\n

Just as we\u2019ve made big strides towards devolved decision-making over the past 5 years, so we\u2019ve made equally important progress towards a more sustainable transport system.<\/p>\n

In 2011 we created the Local Sustainable Transport Fund<\/a>, backed by \u00a3600 million of investment, which rose to more than \u00a31 billion up to 2015 once local contributions were added.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s funded almost 100 sustainable schemes, and the Bikeability cycle training programme<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Analysis of the 12 biggest schemes shows they are expected to deliver 5 pounds of economic benefit for each pound invested by the government.<\/p>\n

So the economic rationale for sustainable travel is compelling.<\/p>\n

And the growth of sustainable schemes has continued under the Local Growth Fund.<\/p>\n

With \u00a3600 million to invest in projects involving public transport, walking and cycling.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pleased that D2N2 has done well out of the fund.<\/p>\n

Securing marginally under \u00a3175 million.<\/p>\n

With nearly \u00a3380 million of additional funds to come from local partners and the private sector.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also working in other ways to encourage sustainable solutions.<\/p>\n

For example we\u2019ve produced a door-to-door strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Which is helping councils and other authorities all over the UK.<\/p>\n

To link up different forms of transport.<\/p>\n

And help people choose more sustainable travel options.<\/p>\n

All over the country, we\u2019re seeing the benefits of this joined-up approach. <\/p>\n

Like improved bike facilities at rail stations.<\/p>\n

Better local travel information for passengers.<\/p>\n

And smart ticketing, so people don\u2019t have to buy separate tickets for travel on buses, rail, or trams.<\/p>\n

Many people actually want to get out of their cars.<\/p>\n

They want to save money and get fit.<\/p>\n

So we have a huge opportunity here to get more people cycling and walking.<\/p>\n

In fact this government has more than doubled funding for cycling.<\/p>\n

And that growth will continue.<\/p>\n

Just a few years ago, we were spending \u00a32 per person on cycling.<\/p>\n

Today that\u2019s \u00a36.<\/p>\n

And we will increase that to at least \u00a310.<\/p>\n

But while we\u2019re delivering a massive increase in cycling investment, it\u2019s communities who are grasping the opportunity to turn that money into transformational schemes.<\/p>\n

Including here in the Peak, of course, after your successful bid for funding from the Cycling Ambition Programme.<\/p>\n

The Peak District National Park has long been 1 of the best destinations in the country for recreational cycling – particularly with the traffic free trails which criss-cross the Park.<\/p>\n

But with now over \u00a35 million of Cycling Ambition money, it\u2019s exciting to see how you\u2019re developing the network.<\/p>\n

With better connections between the trails, better links to surrounding towns and cities, better integration with other transport modes, and safer cycle ways.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t wait to see them up and running.<\/p>\n

They can only help the local economy.<\/p>\n

Get more traffic off peak roads.<\/p>\n

And keep more people active and healthy.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019d like to thank the many people here who helped secure both successful Cycling Ambition bids, and who are today helping deliver the improvements.<\/p>\n

Of course this is just 1 aspect of sustainable transport in the Peak District.<\/p>\n

I know you\u2019re working in lots of different ways to make alternatives to car travel easier and more attractive.<\/p>\n

To integrate bus and rail travel with cycling and walking.<\/p>\n

And to promote sustainable travel through the Peak Connections project.<\/p>\n

Like any rural community, buses are the backbone of the public transport network in the Peak.<\/p>\n

And I think local bus services here remain good.<\/p>\n

With excellent connections to Sheffield, Derby, Manchester, and Chesterfield.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve shown our commitment to buses by not cutting support in 2015\/2016.<\/p>\n

And we have protected the free national pass for older and disabled people.<\/p>\n

Trains on the Hope Valley and Buxton Lines also provide vital transport links for local people.<\/p>\n

And community transport is another key ingredient in the local transport mix here.<\/p>\n

We recognise the importance of community services to rural residents.<\/p>\n

Which is why at the end of last year we announced a competitive fund of up to \u00a325 million.<\/p>\n

To support operators who run voluntary, not-for-profit services which benefit their local community.<\/p>\n

And to help rural areas in particular.<\/p>\n

All the issues I\u2019ve spoken about today are part of the sustainability agenda.<\/p>\n

A sustainable transport plan is 1 that is environmentally, fiscally, economically and socially responsible.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s our job at the Department to be the national architects of such a plan.<\/p>\n

But the vast majority of sustainable solutions are local. Which means they have to be devised, developed, owned, promoted and implemented locally.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s something you are doing in the Peak District very well indeed.<\/p>\n

Of course there are huge challenges as people travel more and more – challenges you have been discussing today.<\/p>\n

But we will meet these challenges if we prioritise truly sustainable solutions across transport.<\/p>\n

Until they guide and inspire everything we do.<\/p>\n

Until they become second nature.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s our shared objective.<\/p>\n

And it will also be our shared achievement.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Peak District is putting sustainability at the heart of its future transport programme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54771"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54771\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}