INFRASTRUCTURE & PLACE LEP SUPERIOR CONNECTIVITY IS A KEY CONTRIBUTOR TO BERKSHIRE’S STRONG ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE – AND WILL BE CRUCIAL TO ITS FUTURE PROSPERITY

STRATEGIC ECONOMIC PLAN (SEP) OBJECTIVES:  Ensure economic potential is not stifled by labour supply issues -> congestion must be removed so that people can travel within/beyond Thames Valley Berkshire  Allow planned housing – some of which is dependent on upfront infrastructure investment – is brought forward  Ensure that our towns function as real hubs The BLIS describes Berkshire’s strong economic performance and attributes these to a number of factors including;  Its proximity to and to  Its location in relation to national transport infrastructure (especially the M4 Motorway and the Line)  The prevalence of information Technology (IT) and other tech sector companies in Berkshire  Strong inward investment and international ownership of large corporate organisations headquartered in Berkshire

Source: FDI Magazine, European Cities and Regions of the Future 2020/21 – Winners 2 BERKSHIRE BENEFITS SIGNIFICANTLY FROM ITS LOCATION IN RELATION TO NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE – AND WILL SOON BENEFIT FURTHER FROM CROSSRAIL

Airport Connections Train Connections Driving Connections

Route Car Train Route Duration Reading to Heathrow Reading to London Airport 48 mins 1 hr Paddington 22 mins Reading to Gatwick 1 hr 30 1 hr Reading to Birmingham • Major motorway (M4) run horizontally Airport mins 20 mins 1 hr 33 mins through the Thames Valley Berkshire Reading to Stansted 2 hrs 5 1 hr Reading to Manchester • Ease of access to M3 (South East), M5 3 hrs 0 mins Airport mins 45 mins (West) and M25 (London Circular) Reading to Leeds 43k residents Reading to Luton 1 hr 30 1 hrs 3 hrs 13 mins from Thames Airport mins 30 mins Valley Reading to Cardiff Berkshire Reading to 1 hr 27 mins commute 1 hr 30 1 hr into London Airport mins 46 mins Reading to Bristol 24k London 1 hr 9 mins residents Reading to commute out into Airport 55 mins 48 mins Reading to Edinburgh Thames Valley 5 hrs 25 mins Berkshire (Census 2011) 3 WHAT WE’RE ALREADY DOING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Completed 2017 Completing 2021/22  Newbury: London Road  Newbury: Kings Road Link Road Industrial Estate  Newbury: Sandleford Park Completing 2020  Newbury: Railway Station  NCN upgrade 422  : Railway Station upgrade  TVB Smart City Cluster Project  Superfast Berkshire Broadband

5 IMMEDIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 SIX PROJECTS ARE ON COURSE TO RECEIVE FUNDING FROM THE ‘GETTING BUILDING FUND’

Road Improvements to Langley High Street,

Bringing Full FibreBuilding to Rural a Future Communities Skills Hub inacross Slough

Bringing FullBuilding Fibre to aRural Future Communities Skills Hub acrossin Slough West Berkshire

Building a new Health and Social Care College, /

2020/21 Getting Building Fund Building Getting 2020/21 Renewable Resources Centre, West Berkshire /RBWM

Bracknell Pharma and Life Sciences Lab, Bracknell/ Wokingham

7 IMPACT OF COVID-19 CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF BERKSHIRE'S DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Berkshire must ensure that: Superfast Broadband coverage  Its digital infrastructure is future-proofed to meet the ever-increasing technology needs of those businesses already here – or considering 97.3% locating here (consistent with the UK figure)  It provides a best in class platform for start-up companies and to provide the electronic communication, e-commerce products and services, entertainment and other digitally enabled services all those Full Fibre who live and work in the area demand and expect  We need to address the issues identified in the recent RNS digital 11.5% landscape report to create an environment that will attract digital (v 15.5% UK = 26% lower) investment

Source: Berkshire Digital Infrastructure Group (DIG) report, Regional Network Solutions

9 10 BERKSHIRE’S DIGITAL STRATEGY

 Berkshire must embrace the transition from Superfast Broadband to gigabit connectivity  The Digital Infrastructure Group (DIG)  Provide superfast broadband to all Berkshire premises by the end of 2020  Increase Berkshire’s FTTP, ultrafast broadband coverage, from its current low level, well in advance of the Government’s full fibre coverage target of 2033  Create favourable conditions for an early rollout of 5G in Berkshire A NET ZERO CARBON COMMITMENT REMAINS CRUCIAL FOR THE PLANET

 The UK government is targeting net zero emissions by 2050 The LEP supports TfSE’s initial response, based on recently  Emissions from rail would still produce commissioned research “The work demonstrated that if we are 11% of 2018 emissions from rail travel to achieve net zero carbon emissions from transport by 2050, a even if all of the current fleet were greater shift to sustainable models will be required, including a converted to electric rolling stock reduction in the total number of trips we make or generate, particularly by private vehicles.”  Emissions from road transport would still produce 67% of 2018 emissions for road travel even if all were converted to electric vehicles

11 PLACE: COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVE TAKES SHAPE

Place Foundation: supporting Berkshire’s towns as cultural hubs; and harnessing local impacts from national infrastructure investments (e.g. Crossrail).

Placemaking Board

Formed in 2020 Comprises TVBLEP and LA representatives Chaired by CEO of TVBLEP (Deputy from West Berks)

12 EMERGING STRATEGIES THAT ARE LIKELY/MAY TO LEAD TO OTHER PROJECTS

 Newbury Town Centre master plan  Review of estate as part of new Leisure Strategy  Environment Strategy (Rollout of Solar PV panels, additional ULEV points, tree planting, among others)  Local Plan Review and accompanying Infrastructure Delivery Plan  A Digital Infrastructure Group (DIG) review of Berkshire’s digital infrastructure, aimed at creating the right conditions for rolling out full fibre across the district and more widely across Berkshire.

13 QUESTIONS INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLACE AREAS FOR CONSIDERATION

In response, what should be our priority interventions over: The next 6-24 months? The next 2-5 years?

15 INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLACE AREAS FOR CONSIDERATION

COVID-19 has led to a major economic shock in Berkshire as elsewhere, but as we look towards recovery and renewal what do you see as the principal opportunities and risks?

16 INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLACE AREAS FOR CONSIDERATION

In reflecting on these questions, it may be useful to consider:  How we develop our digital infrastructures & what the priorities should be in this context?  How do we create conditions to encourage infrastructure investment (private sector/ national & local government) in Berkshire  How we should progress modal shifts towards shared/sustainable transport (noting current levels of apprehension linked to the use of public transport)?  What should green growth/ green recovery look like for Berkshire?  How we should best support our town centres, recognising the multiple pressures which are facing them currently?

 How we should make appropriate provision for innovation spaces going forward? 17 CLOSING THOUGHTS