Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro Extension Business Case
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Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Business Case Midland Metro Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Extension June 2017 The Midland Metro Alliance is a team of planning, design and construction specialists responsible for building a number of new tram extensions over the coming decade on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority. These exciting extensions will help deliver a lasting legacy, aiding social and economic regeneration across the region. Building on lessons from past projects and best practice from across the world, Midland Metro Alliance has goals which will ensure the 10 year plan will only be successfully delivered if all parties work together. This will give the best outcome for the travelling public and the local economy. ~,WEST MIDLAo DS TfW M WEST MIDLANDS `~ ♦-~- - -~-~-~ COMBINED AUTHORITY FOREWORD BY ANDY STREET — MAYOR FOR THE WEST MIDLANDS As the newly elected Mayor for the West Midlands, I am delighted to submit to you this Business Case for the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Extension of the Midland Metro. One of my key manifesto promises was to start work on this extension within my first term, and this important first step, seeking to obtain the funding and approvals from Central Government, is one that ~I am proud to take within my first month as Mayor. NDS This route will be a key part of the tram network across the region, ■ ~ which will play a significant role in the regeneration and economic growth for the West Midlands. Our patronage on the existing service between Birmingham and Wolverhampton city centres is at an all-time high — 7.89 million passengers took the tram between June 2016 and May 2017. Extensions are planned in Wolverhampton City centre and across Birmingham (including both Centenary Square and Eastside), and out to UK Central via north Solihull. The West Midlands Combined Authority is committed to delivering a world class public transport network across the conurbation, which links directly to our HS2 stations. The Wednesbury to Brierley Hill line presents a tremendous economic and regeneration opportunity to the Black Country as well, which is demonstrated in the strength of the attached business case and the benefit to cost ratio of 2.5:1. It will align initiatives in employment, education, health and tourism along the 11km corridor, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. In terms of housing, upwards of 50,000 homes will be stimulated by the project, and approximately 170 hectares of brownfield land brought back into use. The project will dramatically reduce journey times along the corridor to the Curzon Station HS2 Hub, for example, the current journey from Dudley Bus Station to Curzon Street would be reduced from 65 to 40 minutes, and the scheme will more than halve journey times from the more remote stops along the route into central Birmingham. As you are aware, we are also working on a case for transferring the ownership of the line from Network Rail to the West Midlands Combined Authority which we think will help to ensure we are able to control costs and deliver to timetable whilst making provision for future national rail use of the route. As part of our agreed devolution deal with Government, the submission of this case marks a milestone for the West Midlands Combined Authority, and the start of our conversation about how we can, together, look at the innovative mechanisms of funding and financing, alongside Mayoral powers, to ensure we can draw down the funding contribution from Government which is critical to the successful delivery of this transformational project. commend this Business Case for your consideration and approval. r~ ~~~~ Andy Street Mayor for the West Midlands Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Business Case Midland Metro Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Extension Strategic Case Midland Metro Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Extension | Strategic Case Contents S1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 The Black Country ......................................................................................................................... 2 The Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Scheme ..................................................................................... 4 Strategic Case ............................................................................................................................... 5 S2. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 11 General Overview ....................................................................................................................... 11 Scheme Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 12 Overview of the Strategic Case ................................................................................................... 12 S3. Options Assessment ......................................................................................................... 13 Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Conclusions of Options Assessments ......................................................................................... 14 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 14 S4. The Proposed Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Extension ......................................................... 15 Overview of the scheme ............................................................................................................. 15 Objectives of Brierley Hill Metro Extension ................................................................................ 19 Route Description ....................................................................................................................... 20 Service Specification ................................................................................................................... 23 Predicted Patronage ................................................................................................................... 24 S5. Black County Demographic ............................................................................................... 29 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 29 Population ................................................................................................................................... 30 Deprivation ................................................................................................................................. 31 Unemployment and Income ....................................................................................................... 34 Work Locations ........................................................................................................................... 35 S6. Economic Prosperity and Growth ...................................................................................... 37 Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Relevant Planning Documentation ............................................................................................. 37 Local Regeneration ..................................................................................................................... 39 S-Contents Midland Metro Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Extension | Strategic Case S7. Transport ......................................................................................................................... 46 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 46 National Policy and Regional Policy ............................................................................................ 46 Current Resident Transport Characteristics ............................................................................... 50 Highway Connections ................................................................................................................. 53 Public Transport .......................................................................................................................... 53 Non-Motorised Users (NMU) ..................................................................................................... 56 Rail Freight .................................................................................................................................. 57 Figures Figure 4.1: Metropolitan Rail and Rapid Transit Network .......................................................... 17 Figure 4.2: Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Extension ..................................................................... 18 Figure 5.1: Indices of Multiple Deprivation Deciles (2015) for the LSOAs Black Country .......... 32 Figure 6.1: Regeneration Areas .................................................................................................. 40 Figure 7.1: Public Transport Provision .......................................................................................