Transport Committee
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TRANSPORT COMMITTEE Transport and the economy TE 01 London Borough of Newham TE 02 Royal Aeronautical Society TE 03 Richard Starling TE 04 Derek Halden TE 05 liftshare TE 06 FSB - Federation of Small Businesses TE 08 PACTS TE 09 TRL - Transport Research Laboratory TE 10 TfL - Transport for London TE 11 Transport Watch TE 12 Stagecoach Group plc TE 13 Joint from Dr Greg Marsden and Professor Peter Mackie TE 14 Unite - the union TE 15 Merseytravel TE 17 Passenger Focus TE 18 CILT - The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport TE 19 Local Government Technical Advisers Group (TAG) TE 20 Rail Freight Group TE 21 Roger Vickerman TE 22 UK Major Ports Group TE 23 TravelWatch NorthWest TE 24 National Alliance Against Tolls TE 25 Virgin Atlantic Airways' TE 26 VisitBritain TE 27 Independent transport commission TE 28 David Simmonds Consultancy Ltd TE 29 ADEPT TE 30 Wharf Weston TE 31 BAR UK TE 32 North of Tyne Transport Group TE 33 Norfolk Chamber of Commerce TE 34 "The Northern Way" TE 35 South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive TE 36 Edward Gibbins TE 37 Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Transport Planning Society (TPS) TE 38 Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA) TE 39 Southampton City Counci TE 40 FlyingMatters TE 41 RAC Foundation TE 42 The Hoseasons Group TE 44 The Transport Planning Society (TPS) TE 45 London First TE 46 James Morshead TE 47 Directors of Public Health for the West of England Partnership Area TE 48 ASLEF TE 49 North West Rail Campaign TE 50 West of England Authorities TE 51 Oxfordshire County Council TE 52 PCS Union TE 53 Town and Country Planning Association TE 54 English Regional Development Agencies TE 55 Halton Borough Council TE 56 Dr David Metz TE 57 East of England Space for Ideas Forum of business leaders TE 58 Association of Greater Manchester Authorities and Greater Manchester Intergrated Transport Authority TE 59 Economy on behalf of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) TE 60 British Ports Association (BPA) TE 61 British Air Transport Association (BATA) TE 62 Centro TE 63 Living Streets TE 64 London TravelWatch TE 65 CBI TE 66 The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) TE 67 Associated British Ports TE 68 City of York Council TE 69 DB Schenker TE 70 Freight on Rail Memorandum from the London Borough of Newham (TE 01) 1. Summary of key points 1.1 East London is set to become the capital’s economic powerhouse over the next decade. Over time, it will be the key strategic location for trade, commerce, leisure and development in London. It is estimated that at today’s prices, raising the productivity of the Thames Gateway to the same level as the Greater South East would contribute around £13bn to UK GDP.1 In other words, success here has a national impact. 1.2 Currently, there is no recognised major transport hub in East London. Stratford, which already has the capacity and the connectivity, and is at the centre of London’s major development plans for the next twenty five years, is ideally placed to become the UK’s newest transport hub serving the Britain of 2025. 1.3 Transport infrastructure is absolutely critical to realising the unparalleled opportunities for growth in this part of the UK. If we fail to develop the necessary conditions for the capital’s growth in the next decade, companies will choose to invest in other cities around the world which are more conducive to development. It would be a debilitating mistake to let this happen. 1.4 High speed rail is part of the transport package that East London needs to support its economic development; which also includes ensuring that Crossrail is delivered in full, along with the Thames Gateway bridge and the extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). Delivery of these three major transport projects together will determine the extent to which the regeneration potential of the Royal Docks – a key Opportunity Area in the London Plan and part of the Green Enterprise District vital to supporting a low carbon economy – is realised. Given the cancellation of the Thames Gateway Bridge, it is particularly vital to the regeneration and economic development of the area that the Crossrail South East branch, currently subject to reappraisal, is delivered. 1.5 More information is available on these issues should it be of interest the Committee. However, this submission focuses specifically on the contribution that high speed rail would make as a key driver of the local and national economy, if Stratford were utilised as a high speed rail “hub”. 1.6 Over £210m worth of public money has already been invested making the station fit for its purpose as an international station, yet no international services currently stop at Stratford. It is an international station in name only. One of its roles was intended to be the London stop for international 1 Return on Capital: a prospectus for the future of the London Thames Gateway, Thames Gateway London Partnership http://www.thames‐gateway.org.uk/ services originating in the UK regions ‐ the Committee will recall that over £350m was expended on purchasing Regional Eurostar train sets which have never been used for these services. Together with the cost of a link between the West Coast Mainline and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, well over £600m has been invested to enable the regions to benefit from links to the European high speed rail network, none of which have been realised. 1.7 However, Stratford has a large catchment of potential users even without supporting regional international services. We believe that there is a commercial case for operators on the current High Speed One line to stop at Stratford and have independent evidence which supports this. In their report (attached as an appendix), Colin Buchanan Associates found that stopping at Stratford is financially viable, would see 2 million passengers opt to use the station annually and deliver £600m in user benefits in the evaluation period (based on the Department for Transport’s own methodology for valuing journey time savings). 1.8 We are keen to ensure that the UK maximises its investment in new transport infrastructure, specifically in the new high speed rail line (High Speed Two). The new network should generate longer term growth, development and investment in the country. 1.9 The debate around high speed rail has for too long been based on the assumption that the UK’s transport needs tomorrow will be the same as our needs today. Yet the new line will not open until the mid‐2020s. Planning for how our transport infrastructure, and economic growth, will develop in the next two decades will be critical in ensuring that we maximise the potential of high speed rail for the whole of the UK and gain a return on our investment. Stratford is a key strategic location in the future UK economy, and has a major role to play within this agenda. Yet we are concerned that current plans are not exploiting economic trends or major areas of future growth, such as East London. 1.10 We miss a huge opportunity if the objective of our new high speed rail network is solely to cut journey times within and between UK regions. This is a chance to open up the West Midlands, Northern England and Scotland to European trade and investment and create a real driver for our economic recovery through easier access to European trade and industry. 1.11 Yet current plans remain focused on a line which does not connect High Speed One and High Speed Two. This is despite the fact that both the current Secretary of State for Transport and his predecessor have said they see the strategic argument for linkage; especially in the context of building a railway line for over 100 years of use. There is a distinct risk that a series of discrete high speed lines will be built that fail to join up, rather than a network. Stratford is the location which can facilitate a more joined up approach. 1.12 With the new network, we are presented with a unique opportunity; to join the three major transport projects of our generation together, creating the foundations for future economic growth. Connecting the Crossrail link to Heathrow with High Speed One and High Speed Two ‐ in one strategic location ‐ would transform business in the UK, and act as a catalyst for future investment. 1.13 We would welcome the Committee to Newham for a site visit around Stratford and the station, to see the potential and scale of the development opportunity here, and present in person our case for Stratford as a transport hub, and its relevance as a strategic location for the UK economy. Main submission East London Moving East 2.1 East London is expected to become the economic powerhouse for the capital over the next two decades. Take some simple statistics: East London is expected to accommodate up to 249,000 new jobs by 2016 ‐ nearly 40 percent of London’s total employment growth. It will be the location of a third of all London’s new homes. 2 Over twenty years, the GLA predicts a population increase of 260,000 people in the 5 Olympic host boroughs alone, the equivalent of a whole new borough the size of Newham. These boroughs are already home to one sixth of London’s population.3 The Mayor of London’s replacement London Plan cited East London as the single most important regeneration priority in the capital for the next 25 years.4 2.2 Stratford holds a unique strategic position in the economic development of London and the UK as a whole.