Transport for the North’s Policy and Strategy team are responsible for shaping the organisation’s priorities for the future and overseeing the development of the Transport Strategy and Investment Plan – not a small task! In the run-up to the launch of the Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review, we spoke to Amy Harhoff, Head of Policy and Strategy for Transport for the North, about the work of her department.
We started off by asking Amy a bit about her background. “I studied Economics at University,” she told us, “By the time I graduated in 2006 I was really interested in the role that transport has to play in driving the economy so I took a job, doing transport planning. This included working on major new developments, economic master planning, presenting business cases and funding applications. I then moved on to Sheffield City Region, where I worked on wider infrastructure development, transport, housing and planning policy and investments, particularly focusing on the role of infrastructure to drive economic development.
“As part of my role at Sheffield City Region, I was asked to support the emerging work of TfN, working on building the new organisation’s policy and case for investment. I led on the organisation’s first strategy reports, overseeing the Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review work and also supporting the development of the organisation’s overarching policy.”
“Transport and the economy is such a huge agenda. Now we can see the role of transport in driving the economy is being recognised as being really important. Transport for the North’s primary function is focused on major transport investment aimed at driving economic growth and so as the organisation formed and opportunities arose it was somewhat of a professional dream come true to become Head of Policy and Strategy for TfN.”
We asked Amy what she sees as the key priorities for TfN in terms of policy and strategy: “The next eighteen months is a key transition period for Transport for the North,” she explained, “We’ll be the first sub-national transport body of its kind in England by the end of 2017 and our team will be ensuring that our strategy, policy and programmes are well-developed using robust evidence.”
We need to ensure that TfN can drive the strategic transport agendas that will enable growth for the North. We’ll be producing our integrated strategy over that period, it will bring forward new evidence, make the case for major transformational investments and, critically, it will be developed in partnership with a clear plan to involve business and civic leaders and ensure public buy-in. That will include an initial phase of public consultation, followed by a formal consultation once we get statutory status. Whilst we’re developing this strategy we’ll also be ensuring that TfN provides clear priorities into the current roads and rail investment processes.”
“The Strategy and Policy Team needs to be, and is, very outcome focused,” she told us, “We do have a lot of outputs: to deliver the Northern Transport Strategy, to form the organisation as a statutory body and to deliver key pieces of work like the Independent Economic Review but really our priority is turning all that research and analysis into meaningful policy to formulate TfN’s targeted priorities, for schemes and investments that in turn create the right environment for business to prosper.”
“Specifically we are setting out a very clear proposition in our business plan: that we will add value to the existing great work undertaken by local transport bodies’ work by developing and evolving a Transport Strategy which particularly focuses on pan-Northern transport connections.
“This work will be built on evidence from the Independent Economic Review for the North and also from our six different work streams [Strategic Roads, Northern Powerhouse Rail, Smart North, Local Connectivity, Freight and Logistics and International Connectivity] to make a strong case for transport investment in the North, in a similar way to colleagues at TfL have successfully made a case for Crossrail and other schemes and colleagues at Transport Scotland made a case for Borders Rail.”
As Amy has been closely involved with the recently launched Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review (NPIER), we asked her what else she envisaged for this Review, as well as it forming the bedrock of evidence for TfN’s own strategies.
“I think it’s really important that the NPIER has analysed strengths which are pan-Northern. This helps us all to see where the opportunities are to encourage economic growth across the whole region. It’s also important that our work has wholesale buy-in from business and civic leaders across the North and I am personally grateful to the dozens and local leaders, LEP and wider organisations that engaged with and drove forward this work.
“This will not only be used now to drive investments, but to market the great opportunities we have in the North. I am really looking forward to the next steps of this which will take many forms and I am proud that the North has again spoken with once voice on the issues that matter.”
Amy and her team have a big challenge over the next few years but her enthusiasm for the work shines through. “The best thing about living and working in the North is the sense of opportunity!” she told us.