Connections | News and views from Transport for the South East

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March 2019

Cllr Keith Glazier

Welcome to this first edition of ‘Connections’ – our new, regular update for partners, stakeholders and indeed anyone with an interest in transport and economic growth in the South East region.

Since its inception less than two years ago, Transport for the South East has quickly emerged as a powerful partnership, speaking with one voice on the region’s strategic transport needs.

With a full team now on board and clear plans in place to publish a regional transport strategy and submit a proposal to government for statutory status, the next 12 months have the potential to be genuinely transformational for TfSE, our constituent authorities and the region.

I am confident that the team here will make a success of it, thanks in no small part to the ongoing support of our partners and stakeholders for which I am extremely grateful. 

Kind regards,

Cllr Keith Glazer


Developing our transport strategy

Our transport strategy is the blueprint for how the South East’s transport system should be developed to grow the regional economy, improve opportunity for all and protect and enhance our environment.

The first stage in developing the strategy was our Economic Connectivity Review published in summer 2018. Since then we have been working closely with consultants WSP and Steer on a range of thematic studies, collating our baseline data and working with partners like Network Rail and Highways England to understand future demand scenarios.

We’re aiming to publish the draft transport strategy in the autumn, with a three-month public consultation period to give everybody in the South East and beyond the chance to shape the final strategy.

For more information about our transport strategy, contact Mark Valleley, technical lead


Your views on freight & logistics challenges

Containers

As the UK’s international gateway and home to more than 7.5m people, supporting the efficient movement of goods to and through the South East is a critical element of our transport strategy.

We're asking businesses across the UK to help shape the strategy by completing a short survey looking at the challenges they face today, their thoughts on future developments in technology and their own plans for growth.

To find out more and to take part in the survey, please click here.


Securing statutory status by 2020

Over the last few months we have been engaging informally with partners on our draft proposal to government, which sets out the statutory powers and responsibilities we are seeking from government to deliver our transport strategy.

From 3 May to 31 July 2019, we’ll be carrying out a formal consultation on the draft proposal giving our constituent authorities, neighbouring authorities, transport operators, business groups and others the opportunity to have their say.

We plan to submit our final proposal to government later this year.

If you’d like to know more about the draft proposal, please contact Rachel Ford, programme manager.


RAIL: Response to Williams Review

train

Transport for the South East has submitted an officer response on behalf of our constituent authorities to inform Keith Williams’ review of the rail industry.

The response said that putting the passenger back at the heart of rail franchises is key and that all future franchises should provide clear financial incentives to improve performance. We argued for a greater emphasis on quality in the franchise bid assessment to ensure bids have a greater focus on meeting outcomes for passengers.

If you’d like to know more about our work with the rail industry, contact Rob Dickin, transport strategy manager.


ROADS: Top ten investment schemes to be submitted this summer

A27

Following the announcement of the new Major Roads Network (MRN) in December – which included several additions put forward by TfSE – we are working with our partners to develop a pipeline of projects to improve journeys and grow the economy.

A fund of £3.5 billion is available to improve these key routes across the UK between April 2020 and March 2025. We will agree a list of ten priority schemes for the region with our member authorities for submission to DfT in July.

To find out more about our work on highways investment, contact Sarah Valentine, transport strategy manager.


Meet the TfSE team

TfSE team

We now have a full programme management team in place, with two new colleagues joining since the turn of the year – Russell Spink, our communications manager, and Lucy Dixon-Thompson who joins as stakeholder and engagement manager. 

To find out more about Russell and Lucy and the rest of the TfSE team, head to our new Meet the team page.


Governance and transparency

Our Shadow Partnership Board is the decision-making body for Transport for the South East. It meets quarterly and is composed of elected representatives of the partner transport authorities, representatives of local enterprise partnerships and the chair of the Transport Forum.

We publish board papers and minutes for all Shadow Partnership Board meetings around a week before each meeting and endeavour to have minutes available no more than two weeks afterwards.

Shadow Partnership Boards meeting dates, 2019:

  • 18 March
  • 14 June
  • 19 September
  • 11 December

Stay connected

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