Transport Plan for the Humber
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Transport Plan for the Humber CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT 1 Local context .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Policy context ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 2 HUMBER TRANSPORT NETWORKS AND ASSETS 4 Ports .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Airports .................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Road and Rail .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 3 CHANGING GOVERNANCE LANDSCAPE 8 Transport for the North ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Devolution of powers to local areas ................................................................................................................. 9 4 RECENT SUCCESS AND DELIVERY 10 Overview ............................................................................................................................................................... 10 Local Growth Fund Schemes ............................................................................................................................ 11 Highways England Schemes ............................................................................................................................... 12 Rail Infrastructure & Electrification ................................................................................................................. 12 5 ASPIRATIONS FOR THE FUTURE 14 Overview ............................................................................................................................................................... 14 I1: Improve connectivity to labour markets. Stronger linkages between areas of need and areas of growth ............................................................................................................................................. 14 I2: Maintain and enhance strategic and key local linkages to provide an efficient and well connected network ............................................................................................................................................. 15 I3: Remove transport barriers to growth through the provision of works to enable and stimulate development ........................................................................................................................................ 18 I4: Ensure the Humber is integrated into and maximises the opportunity of improvements in other regions ........................................................................................................................ 20 I5: Resilience and efficient maintenance of the transport network ......................................................... 21 I6: Create the right conditions for business growth ................................................................................... 22 TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1.1 Summary of Humber Local Plans ....................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2.1 Humber transport assets and strategic movements .................................................................................. 4 Table 4.1 Funding recently secured for schemes within the Humber ..................................................................... 10 Table B1.1 How schemes contribute to SEP strategic priorities .............................................................................. 26 APPENDICES Appendix A Schemes by Local Authority Area Appendix B Linkages with SEP Strategic Priorities 1 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT 1.1 This long term Transport Plan has been developed jointly by the four Humber local authorities. The Plan defines the priorities for our transport system, to be implemented over the next 10 to 20 years. It forms part of the strategic evidence base for the Humber and will be used to influence spending priorities within the Humber moving forward. 1.2 The plan begins with a summary of the strategic policy context for the plan. Chapter 2 includes a summary of the transport networks and assets within the Humber. Chapter 3 provides a discussion of the changing governance landscape looking at the emergence of Transport for the North, devolution of powers and changes to rail franchise management. Chapter 4 provides a synopsis of recently delivered schemes and sets out major transport schemes programmed for delivery in the short term. Finally this plan sets out the Humber’s aspirations for future transport schemes to support strategic priorities and emerging and adopted local plans. LOCAL CONTEXT 1.3 The Humber is an area renowned for its strong maritime industrial heritage and unique natural beauty. It lies on the east coast equidistant between London and Edinburgh and is made up of four local authorities: East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Hull City Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council. 1.4 The Humber Estuary defines the area. Much of the industry and employment within the area has grown as a result of its relationship with the estuary, and the estuary provides one of the largest economic opportunities for both the north and south banks. The Hull and Humber Ports dominate the economic and cultural profile of the area, forming the UK’s largest port complex. In addition, the emerging renewable and carbon capture sectors create a significant opportunity for the area to capitalise upon its geography and natural assets. 1.5 It is a diverse area, with a resulting diversity of challenges. Hull is the largest economic centre, with significant economic centres at Grimsby and Scunthorpe. The Humber consequently has three functional labour markets reflecting the strengths of its different centres. The Humber also has significant rural and coastal communities, with other major settlements including the renaissance resorts of Cleethorpes and Bridlington, the market towns of Beverley, Brigg, Driffield and Barton, and the ports of Immingham and Goole. POLICY CONTEXT Humber Strategic Economic Plan 1.6 The Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in its Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) sets out an ambition to maximise the potential offered by the Humber Estuary to help support and expand the local economy within the Humber area. To help realise this ambition the Plan identifies five strategic enablers covering infrastructure, business growth, place, skills and floods/environment: 1 Creating an infrastructure that supports growth; 2 Supporting businesses to succeed; 3 A great place to live and visit; 4 A skilled and productive workforce; and 1 5 Flood risk and environmental management. 1.7 Within the five strategic enablers that are identified within the SEP, one deals specifically with access and transport infrastructure but all are influenced by transport. The SEP states that the Humber’s good connectivity to the rest of the UK is one of the area’s strengths, but notes that “bottlenecks in road infrastructure remain and parts of the area’s rail infrastructure (passenger and freight) are in urgent need of improvement to ensure the enhanced connectivity brought about through HS2 can be fully exploited” (p14). The SEP notes that the Local Growth Fund presents the opportunity to start to address these issues. 1.8 The strategic objective of the SEP in relation to infrastructure is as follows: Enhance access to strategic sites and along key growth corridors, upgrade passenger and freight rail infrastructure and ensure our port and airport infrastructure matches our anticipated investment in the Energy Estuary. 1.9 Sitting under this objective are six strategic priorities: I1: Improve connectivity to labour markets. Stronger linkages between areas of need and areas of growth. I2: Maintain and enhance strategic and key local linkages to provide an efficient and well connected network. I3: Remove transport barriers to growth through the provision of works to enable and stimulate development. I4: Ensure the Humber is integrated into and maximises the opportunity of improvements in other regions. I5: Resilience and efficient maintenance of the transport network. I6: Create the right conditions for business growth. 1.10 The SEP goes on to identify a number of specific themes, issues and schemes to be addressed. These are summarised below: Transport can play a key role in realising the potential of the renewables sector through supporting opportunities that will influence investment decisions. Connectivity between the port facilities and the renewables development sites is a key factor. Direct and reliable connections between the ports and key renewables sites need to be in place. Transport improvements can facilitate business to business interactions boosting productivity and flexibility. The current situation of infrequent services and unattractive journey times to other northern cities from Hull has resulted in sub- optimal business linkages with those cities. The Humber Ports all have a rail link; however,