Richard Walker has joined the South East England Regional Assembly on secondment from the Department for Transport (DfT) to work on developing an inter-urban bus and coach network in the South East and East of England.

The secondment is jointly funded with the East of England Regional Assembly.

Richard Walker is a transport planner with 16 years' experience and a former Chair of the Transport Planning Society. He has previously worked in both the private and public sectors at Colin Buchanan, Greater London Authority, Strategic Rail Authority and latterly the DfT's Rail Group.

Assembly Chief Executive Paul Bevan said: "Developing quality, reliable public transport routes between major centres could help us cut congestion by offering a viable alternative to car journeys. Richard will play a key role in building partnerships with local authorities and transport providers across the South East and East regions to test the viability of the idea."

Contacts

Steve Baker, Assembly PR Executive - 01483 555234

Heather Bolton, Assembly Communications Director - 01483 555220

Notes to editors:

• The Assembly is a partnership of councils and communities in the South East region. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the region, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
• The Assembly is made up of 112 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) as well as the New Forest National Park Authority.
• The Assembly has six roles:
1. Regional Planning
   preparing and delivering the South East Plan
2. Regional Housing
   the Regional Housing Board decides housing investment priorities
3. Regional Transport
   the Regional Transport Board decides transport investment priorities
4. Advocacy
   pressing the South East's interests in London and Brussels
5. Accountability
   scrutinising SEEDA's plans and impact
6. Alignment
   co-ordinating regional policies and decisions.
• Our vision is for a distinctive, outward-looking, accessible region of prosperous, sustainable communities, with a high quality of life and environment.

East of England Regional Assembly

• The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) exists to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of the region through a partnership of elected and stakeholder representatives and is recognised by two Acts of Parliament. It undertakes four primary functions:
1. Regional planning and housing body for the East of England
2. Scrutiny of the Regional Development Agency
3. Regional local government association
4. Regional employers organisation for local government.

For more information, see the Assembly’s website.

Last updated: 18 September 2007