Last month the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) published its second independent National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA).
Transport for the North (TfN) welcomed the assessment, particularly its recognition of the key role improved connectivity has to play in unlocking the potential of the North’s city-regions and towns.
Sustainable transport systems are crucial for underpinning a nation’s economic performance and prosperity.
The assessment is the culmination of two years of work and makes recommendations to Government on the infrastructure the country needs over the next 30 years, looking out to 2055.
The report highlights three key challenges that need to be addressed:
These challenges are cross-sectoral. Tackling them will require a whole systems approach. We support this view. We know transport is an enabler to achieving the economic and social changes the North wants to see by 2050, and so transport investment needs to be done alongside investment in good utility systems, strong digital capability and resilient infrastructure across other key sectors.
“there is pressing need to improve productivity and fix decades of economic disparity between regions,”
Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission
This is a familiar story, building on the first NIA. It aligns with TfN’s revised Strategic Transport Plan (STP), which sets out the strategic priorities and outcomes we want for the North of England and makes the case for additional investment to enable the North’s citizens and businesses to realise their full potential. The Plan represents the North speaking with One Voice on how transport should help shape a positive future for our citizens and businesses, and our environment.
There are similarities between our draft STP and the NIC’s 46 recommendations. Those recommendations fall into four categories:
The assessment makes multiple recommendations for transport including investment in mass transit, and maintenance and renewal across the network.
There is a specific recommendation around getting cities moving, calling for £22 billion of government investment to improve public transport in the largest cities outside London to unlock growth. Two of the North’s cities (Leeds and Manchester) are on their initial priority list. Transport for the North supports the call to improve public transport in and between cities. It’s one of the key interventions and investments needed to transform the North, and needs to be delivered in a way that reduces rather than exacerbates transport related social exclusion (TRSE).
The NIA shows the increasing urgency for action that is needed in some policy areas. For example, the NIA says EV charge point deployment will now have to grow 30% each year to meet the Government’s targets for 300,000 publicly available chargers by 2030. The system changes called for by the report could help inject some of this speed required.
Over the next decade we will need to see a rapid transition to EVs and Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs), and this requires significant investment in the charging infrastructure if we are to decarbonise transport. Our STP sets an ambition to increase the uptake of public EV charging points at scale and pace across the North, with the aim of at least 123,500 by 2030.
Our Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) framework provides a route map towards an efficient, attractive and inclusive EV charging network. It has been developed to support local authority and national government partners in the planning and deployment of EV charging infrastructure, to underpin any public sector funding, as well as to inform and enhance any delivery through partnership with the private sector.
The report by the Geospatial Commission about the different layers of data that can be used to effectively deliver EV charging presents clear actions which we will look to support through further advancement of our work and collaboration across all sectors involved.
TfN remains resolute in making the case for investment in the North’s transport system and steadfast in the need for pace, if we are to deliver economic growth that is sustainable and inclusive for the longer term. It is why we are pleased to see this second NIA recognise how important it is to address connectivity for our region.
By continuing to act as ‘one voice’ for the North, with our local transport authority partners and business representatives, we can offer an ambitious vision, one that is grounded in local knowledge and evidence of what our region needs to unlock its potential.