BUSINESS is to have its say in a wide-ranging debate on the future of transport in and around the Oxford to Cambridge Arc.
The regional transport body England’s Economic Heartland has unveiled its Outline Transport Strategy: A Framework for Engagement at its annual conference in Hertfordshire
It will now consult with organisations and individuals on the role of the transport infrastructure in boosting economic growth, benefiting the environment and improving residents’ quality of life and has urged businesses to lobby for what they need from the transport system in the future.
The discussions will play a key role in the development of EEH’s transport strategy for the region, which stretches from Swindon to Cambridgeshire, and Northamptonshire to Hertfordshire. Due for formal consultation early next year, it will set out the region’s infrastructure needs to government and the private sector.
Bedford Mayor Dave Hodgson, who chairs EEH’s Strategic Transport Forum, said: “The Heartland is one of the most exciting economic opportunities in Europe, an internationally renowned hub for science, technology and research. But economic growth has already brought with it increased pressure on our transport infrastructure. Future growth must go hand in hand with environmental improvements and investment in the transport system is crucial to achieving this.”
The Outline Transport Strategy is an important framework for the discussion, he added. “The way forward cannot be ‘business as usual’. We must harness the region’s reputation for innovation in order to do things differently,” Mr Hodgson said. “The challenges and opportunities facing us are unique and complex.”
- For more information on the Outline Transport Strategy, visit www.englandseconomicheartland.com. Consultation runs until the end of October.
