EARLY TRANSPORT INVESTMENT IN THE MILTON KEYNES AND SOUTH MIDLANDS GROWTH AREA

FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF THE LONDON TO SOUTH MIDLANDS MULTI-MODAL STUDY, the South East England Regional Assembly has requested the Government to take early investment decisions that will particularly assist development in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Growth Area.

The Study examined transport needs over a 25 year horizon in an area north of the M25 extending just west of the M1 and Milton Keyes, east of the M11 and Cambridge and north of the A14 and Corby.

While welcoming and supporting many of the proposals, the Assembly felt that the study has failed to consider sufficiently a number of key transport issues in the study area. These include:

• The relationship between local and longer-distance movements in the study area.
• The role of buses, local measures and mobility management in delivering a more effective transport network.
• The opportunity to encourage a shift of freight movements, which are particularly concentrated in the study area, to other modes of transport than roads.

In its formal response to Government, the Assembly has, however, urged the Secretary of State to make early decisions on:

• The widening of the M1 between junctions' 6A and 10.
• Commissioning further work to consider the widening of the M1 north of junction 10. It is important to ensure that any additional capacity created by possible widening does not just encourage further growth in longer-distance car travel along the M1.
• Instructing the SRA to work with the Regional Assembly on how the Study's proposals for rail service improvements, which include the development of quality East-West rail links, can best be developed and delivered.
• Committing additional revenue investment to support local transport authorities in their development of bus and coach based public transport services.
• 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 and Thames Valley studies.

Cllr Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the Regional Planning Committee, said: "The area covered by the Study contains several important national north-south corridors. But east-west communications are weak. The Study area also includes two Regional Growth Areas which will need substantial investment. Although some parts of the study's final report have been disappointing, the Study conclusions do allow early decisions on key infrastructure projects to be made. We therefore urge the Secretary of State to give the green light to a balanced package of public transport and road improvements, especially those which support our Regional Transport Strategy and the needs of the Regional Growth Areas."

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