REGIONAL ASSEMBLY BACKS THAMES VALLEY TRANSPORT STUDY

THE SOUTH EAST ENGLAND REGIONAL ASSEMBLY has backed most of the recommendations in the Thames Valley Multi-Modal Transport Study and calls on the Government to come to an early decision about area-wide charging and make the necessary infrastructure funds available.

Overall, the Assembly has welcomed the Study's recommendations as they have clearly taken account of the Assembly's "invest and manage" approach to transport upon which its draft Regional Transport Strategy is based. However the longer-term picture remains unclear and the Assembly is therefore recommending that the issue of road-user charging is subject to a detailed Government study.

In its formal response to the Study, the Assembly is urging the Secretary of State to make early decisions on:

• Committing substantial Government funding to both the rail and bus systems in the Thames Valley. The Assembly believes that just funding new rail schemes will not do enough to deliver the flexible and responsive public transport system which the area needs; buses and coaches therefore also have a crucial role to play.
  
  
• Commissioning further work on the feasibility and the environmental, economic and social implications of introducing road user charging. This work should be part of the study which the Assembly recommended in its response to the ORBIT study.

Cllr Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the Regional Planning Committee, said: "The Thames Valley is vital both to the regional and the national economy. It accounts for over 19% of regional output and nearly 3% of national output, yet its transport is struggling to cope and suffers from years of under-investment. If the Government wants to ensure that this area's economy is sustained, it needs to invest more in the transport system and do it quickly.

" Particularly important projects are the upgrading of Reading Station and improvements in rail access to Heathrow Airport. One of the ways that the latter can be achieved is by linking Heathrow Airport, via the new Terminal 5 station, to the rail network south-west of Heathrow at Staines."

The Assembly also recommended to the Secretary of State that:

• A new sub-regional transport partnership between public and private sectors should be established which will co-ordinate the implementation of the Study's strategy;
  
  
• The long-standing debate about an additional crossing of the River Thames needs to be resolved urgently;
  
  
• Proposals for mass transit systems serving the wider Reading area and the Blackwater Valley are welcomed in principle but should be examined further in order to determine the full financial and commercial case and whether light rail and bus based systems would be most appropriate.
  

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
2. The Assembly is made up of 111 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
3. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007