Following the recent appointment of the Strategic Director, Andrew Summers, the partnership, comprising local authorities, LEPs, business groups, Highways England, and Network Rail, has developed a 100-day plan to kick-off work on four priority areas:
- Establishing Transport East as an effective Sub-national Transport Body (STB) – The partnership is scoping the requirements of a long-term business plan and funding proposal, to ensure Transport East is a successful, effective and well-run STB, fully championing the aspirations of the Transport East partners, working in close partnership with DfT and the rest of the UK.
- Transport East evidence base and strategy – The partners are currently scoping plans to initiate engagement this summer on an ambitious, focused and coherent Transport Strategy, based on evidence, fully reflecting the unique ambitions of local partners and aligned to national goals. In advance of that, Transport East has commissioned carbon-reduction ‘deep-dive’ research with 20 of our key employers and organisations, and is also developing proposals to support our partners on their shared COVID-19 recovery challenges, including passenger transport and active travel.
- Investment and delivery planning – The partnership is developing a coherent pipeline and delivery plan for our transport investment priorities, aligned to the Transport Strategy, supporting local authorities and infrastructure providers to lobby for the development, funding, acceleration of our priority projects.
- Partnerships, communications and advocacy– The partnership is constructing a communications plan, to ensure Transport East speaks as a single voice for its constituent partners, with our priorities communicated loudly, credibly and effectively via a close working relationship with the government and other sub-national transport bodies.
The Transport Forum on 22 July will review progress on the 100-day plan, and agree the next steps.
Please contact Andrew Summers for more details.