{"id":79588,"date":"2017-03-09T17:39:16","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T17:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=b48b4bd6fac45d27302fb666dbef6176"},"modified":"2017-03-09T17:39:16","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T17:39:16","slug":"speech-625000-for-englands-economic-heartland-to-help-shape-its-future-transport-priorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=79588","title":{"rendered":"Speech: \u00a3625,000 for England\u2019s Economic Heartland to help shape its future transport priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It\u2019s a pleasure to join you this afternoon, at the end of a packed day of discussion on the future for England\u2019s Economic Heartland.<\/p>\n

And how apt it is that we are meeting in Silverstone.<\/p>\n

It reminds me of something I\u2019ve been repeatedly telling my friends and family ever since I became a transport minister.<\/p>\n

That transport can be fun.<\/p>\n

In seriousness, it\u2019s great to see so many people here from a broad range of organisations.<\/p>\n

Local Authorities, Highways England, Network Rail, National Infrastructure Commission and so many businesses from the supply chain that supports it all.<\/p>\n

All here, and all demonstrating a commitment to improving this region\u2019s transport.<\/p>\n

Significance of England\u2019s Economic Heartland<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s entirely right that this region is getting the attention it deserves.<\/p>\n

It contains some of fastest growing cities in the UK; Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge.<\/p>\n

Over 175,000 businesses.<\/p>\n

1.6 million jobs.<\/p>\n

And three and a half million people.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a region of world-leading universities.<\/p>\n

And I am delighted that this region is gaining a reputation as a centre of excellence for the science, technology and innovation of transport.<\/p>\n

As part of the government\u2019s Intelligent Mobility Fund, Milton Keynes is trialling autonomous vehicles that will revolutionise travel.<\/p>\n

Yet none of this success can be taken for granted.<\/p>\n

Many of you will have seen the National Infrastructure Commission\u2019s interim report which came out in the autumn.<\/p>\n

The report highlighted the housing and connectivity challenges your area faces.<\/p>\n

This region has some of the most expensive housing of anywhere in the UK outside London \u2013 driven up by the university towns of Cambridge and Oxford.<\/p>\n

Yet thanks to a legacy of underinvestment by successive governments, its transport connectivity leaves something to be desired.<\/p>\n

Getting across the region is time consuming; it\u2019s often quicker to travel in and out of London then then to travel between east and west.<\/p>\n

For example, the distance from Aylesbury to Milton Keynes is 21 miles, but can take up to 2 and a half hours by train.<\/p>\n

Cambridge to Luton are 41 miles apart but a train journey takes almost 2 hours.<\/p>\n

Transport for growth<\/h2>\n

When transport isn\u2019t all it should be, there\u2019s an economic and social toll to pay.<\/p>\n

Yes, effective transport is essential for prosperity<\/p>\n

But transport isn\u2019t just about getting people from A to B.<\/p>\n

Transport helps people get on.<\/p>\n

It provides access to education and to jobs; it connects businesses with customers, patients to healthcare, friends to friends and family to family.<\/p>\n

So I am glad that in the Autumn Statement we were able to announce that we would press ahead with plans for a new road expressway from Oxford to Cambridge via Bedford and Milton Keynes.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019re also looking into making improvements to the A1 between the M25 and Peterborough.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re working to include these projects and more in our next Road Investment Strategy, and you will continue to be included in that work.<\/p>\n

We are investing in East to West Rail, and we anticipate that train services will be operational between 2022 to 2024.<\/p>\n

Late last year, the Secretary of State asked Rob Brighouse, former chief executive of Chiltern Rail, to look at how the project could be delivered more quickly.<\/p>\n

And in the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor provided \u00a310m to continue the development of the central section between Bedford and Cambridge.<\/p>\n

All this is a good start.<\/p>\n

It means we\u2019ve got 2 important ingredients for investment \u2013 long-term planning and money.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a third ingredient that\u2019s just as vital.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the right governance.<\/p>\n

After all, the government can find the money and make plans but the plans need to be turned into concrete reality, and the money spent in the right way.<\/p>\n

This is where organisations such as England\u2019s Economic Heartland can have such an important role to play.<\/p>\n

By taking local knowledge of needs and opportunities, and thinking strategically.<\/p>\n

About how money is best allocated, on what schemes, and in what order.<\/p>\n

You know your economy better than anyone.<\/p>\n

You know what\u2019s needed to drive growth.<\/p>\n

Yet currently decision-making over strategic transport schemes, for example, is often centralised at a national level.<\/p>\n

So over the year ahead, we want to work with you, to support you in making a real difference to the region.<\/p>\n

We want England\u2019s Economic Heartland to shape its future.<\/p>\n

We want to see the region speak with one voice.<\/p>\n

To have a shared vision for trains and buses, taking into account what passengers want.<\/p>\n

We want to see your plans for reducing road congestion, and speeding up links the region\u2019s airports.<\/p>\n

And we want to see a vision that links this thinking on transport to thinking on housing and economic growth.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re seeing the early evidence that when local areas come together to plan long-term infrastructure, they can deliver outputs greater than the sum of their parts.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pleased too that you\u2019re giving consideration to becoming a sub-national transport body.<\/p>\n

It might offer significant benefits to the region.<\/p>\n

But by definition, it\u2019s not something that should be imposed, or decided on before the hard work of analysis has been done.<\/p>\n

The region must put forward its proposal and make the case for the benefits.<\/p>\n

The government door will be open, and to help you have asked for \u00a3625,000 match fund to get moving. I am happy to confirm that central government is willing to confirm that funding today.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

In conclusion, then, my message is this.<\/p>\n

We know the transport infrastructure across the region isn\u2019t good enough for a region with such incredible potential.<\/p>\n

Now we have the chance to put it right.<\/p>\n

Not by sitting in London and telling you what to do.<\/p>\n

But by giving you the chance to shape your own future.<\/p>\n

So thank you for listening, and thank you, Martin Tett, the Strategic Alliance, and Highways England for organising a brilliant event.<\/p>\n

And thank you for bringing everyone together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Good transport links help connect people, encourage growth and are crucial to building an economy for everyone.<\/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\/79588"}],"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=79588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}