LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY

To: The Chair and Members of the Transport Committee

Meeting: 5 April 2018

Authority/Authorities Affected: All

EXEMPT/CONFIDENTIAL ITEM: No

REPORT OF THE LEAD OFFICER: TRANSPORT

TRANSPORT FOR THE NORTH DRAFT STRATEGIC TRANSPORT PLAN

1. PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1 This report alerts Members to a consultation by Transport for the North on its Draft Strategic Transport Plan. The Strategic Transport Plan, once agreed, will become a statutory document, with Transport for the North becoming the first Sub-National Transport Body on 1 April 2018. A response to the consultation has been prepared by officers of Merseytravel with input from the local authorities and the Local Enterprise Partnership.

1.2 The Draft Strategic Transport Plan was published on 16 January 2018, with a closing date of 17 April 2018. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority meets on 20 April 2018, Officers have therefore agreed with Transport for the North that the response as endorsed by the Transport Committee (subject to any amendments proposed by Members) may be submitted as a holding response, but will also consider any further changes requested by the Combined Authority following its meeting.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that Members of the Transport Committee

(a) note the establishment of Transport for the North as a statutory body as of 1 April 2018; (b) consider the response to the consultation on the Draft Strategic Transport Plan (as set out in Appendix 2); (c) subject to any changes proposed by Transport Committee, endorse it for submission to Transport for the North as a holding response; and (d) agree for it to be submitted to the Combined Authority for endorsement.

3. BACKGROUND

3.1 Transport for the North (TfN) was created as a pan-Northern Partnership Board of civic and business leaders from across the North, working with Highways England, Network Rail, High Speed 2 Ltd and the Department for Transport. On 1 April 2018 the Sub-national Transport Body (Transport for the North) Regulations 2017 came into force, establishing TfN as the first Sub-National Transport Body in the country.

3.2 As such, its Strategic Transport Plan (STP) will become a statutory document, allowing TfN and its Partners to take a leading role in developing the case for investment in the North. The Plan focuses on transformational inter-city and pan- Northern connectivity improvements, ensuring that these are each, in their own right, drivers of economic growth in the North and the UK as a whole. This will also include improving pan-Northern access to the North’s major ports and international airports.

3.3 The STP supports, aligns and integrates with pre-existing Local Transport Plans, including the Merseyside and Halton LTPs, which are the statutory transport plans for the Liverpool City Region. TfN and its Partners share the same ambition for transformational economic growth in the North, and the Plan adds to the case for transport investment at local, regional and pan-Northern levels. The draft STP’s Key Messages are set out in Appendix 1 to this report, with the full draft STP available at https://transportforthenorth.com/wp-content/uploads/TfN-Strategic- Plan_draft_lr.pdf

3.4 The draft STP is centred on seven Strategic Development Corridors, where TfN will focus on improving transport infrastructure. These seven corridors represent an economic area where the evidence to date suggests most progress towards the transformational growth scenario would be made by bringing forward major, strategic rail and road investment over the lifetime of the STP, especially on some of the crucial east-west corridors.

3.5 The City Region’s full response is set out in Appendix 2, and is summarised as:

(i) Connectivity of the North. The North is a polycentric zone, and transport investment should encourage transformational economic growth of all the key centres.

(ii) Freight. The importance of freight is recognised throughout the document, however further robust arguments in support of the Liverpool City Region and wider North, we believe, should be incorporated. This includes the potential for greater use of Northern ports and reducing the levels of growth at ports in more congested areas of the UK, together with all the benefits that brings, both in terms of benefits to the North and the country as a whole (eg through reduced HGV miles on congested roads).

(iii) Appreciation of the Visitor Economy. For some Northern geographies (including the Liverpool City Region) the visitor economy is a key component of the economic structure, and outside of peak hours it is responsible for a substantial proportion of rail demand, as well as other transport modes. Fundamentally, the visitor economy is the sector that often develops the assets and townscape that can make areas of the North attractive for inward investors. The response notes it should be incorporated into TfNs forecasting models.

(iv) Rebalancing the economy. We emphasise the importance of rebalancing the UK economy in work going forwards, whether in strategic or economic discussions that may determine funding and development of business cases, and welcome that this appears to be recognised within the document; although arguably in some sections it might be given more prominence than at present.

4. RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

4.1 Financial

There are no direct financial implications associated with the implementation of the recommendations in this report.

4.2 Human Resources

There are no implications arising directly from this report.

4.3 Physical Assets

There are no implications arising directly from this report.

4.4 Information Technology

There are no implications arising directly from this report.

5. RISKS AND MITIGATION

The risk of not responding to the consultation is that the Liverpool City Region will not otherwise get the opportunity to review and comment on TfN’s Draft Strategic Transport Plan. This is an important document in that it will become a statutory document, presenting the agreed transport policy platform for the North of England. As such, it is vital that the Liverpool City Region is appropriately positioned within the Plan, especially in terms of TfN’s programmes of work, but also in terms of shaping the City Region’s strategic direction.

6. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS

Members are reminded of the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, specifically the need to eliminate discrimination; advance equality of opportunity; and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. In terms of the recommendations within this report, there are no issues arising.

7. COMMUNICATION ISSUES

There are no direct issues.

8. CONCLUSION

Developing the Draft Statutory Transport Plan has been a key part of TfN’s work over the past two years, underpinned by the publication in June 2016 of the Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review. It sets out the considerable economic potential of the Northern Powerhouse – recognising that transforming connectivity is a key part of realising the North’s economic ambitions. To achieve the level of connectivity required, a long term Investment Programme for transport across the North is needed. It is critical that Liverpool City Region is fully recognised and represented within the Plan.

FRANK ROGERS Lead Officer, Transport

Contact Officer(s): Mick Noone, Director of Integrated Transport, 0151 330 1081 Joanna Sawyer, Corporate Communications Manager, 0151 330 1129

Appendices: Appendix One – The Draft Strategic Transport Plan Key Messages Appendix Two – The Liverpool City Region response to the Draft Strategic Transport Plan Consultation

Background Documents: None