MIDDLESBROUGH COUNCIL

Report Title: Transport for the North (TfN)

Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Regeneration: Councillor Charles Rooney

Executive Director of Economic Development & Communities: Kevin Parkes

Date 8th September 2015

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

  1. To update the Executive members of the development of Transport for the North as a statutory body created as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
  1. The Executive is recommended to:

a) take full advantage of the opportunity for Middlesbrough to take an active rolein Transport for the North;

b) lobby for the inclusion of the critical Tees Valley improvements to form part of the funded long term strategy for the Northern Powerhouse to help drive economic growth.

IF THIS IS A KEY DECISION WHICH KEY DECISION TEST APPLIES?

It is over the financial threshold (£150,000)
It has a significant impact on 2 or more wards
Non Key / 

DECISION IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE

  1. For the purposes of the scrutiny call in procedure this report is

Non-urgent / 
Urgent report

If urgent please give full reasons

BACKGROUND AND EXTERNAL CONSULTATION

  1. As part of the government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative the core northern cities (Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle) were asked to produce a long term transformational transport strategy. This was to provide the infrastructure necessary for the North to act as a collective and improve its competitiveness to act as an alternative to continued growth in the south east. Hull were added to the list of core cities to account for port interests around Hull and Immingham
  1. TFN Governance

At the current time the TfN Partnership Board comprises the following reps:

  • DfT (associate status) (Minister and Director General)
  • Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Liverpool City Region LEP
  • Greater Manchester CA (Chair) and Greater Manchester LEP
  • West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region LEP
  • Sheffield City Region Combined Authority and Sheffield City Region LEP
  • North East Combined Authority and North East LEP
  • Hull City Council and Humber LEP
  • Chairman of Network Rail
  • Chief Exec of Highways England
  • Chief Exec of HS2 Ltd
  1. There is also currently an Executive Board and Programme Board that have been overseeing the various TfN workstreams (Road, Rail, Freight, Integrated/Smart Travel, City Connectivity, and Governance).To date Tees Valley has been invited to input to the Freight and City Region Connectivity workstreams but has no representation on the Partnership Board or Executive/Programme Boards. Tees Valley Leaders and Officers are invited to the Wider Reference Group and Partner Update meetings respectively.
  1. A proposal has now come forward to invite Tees Valley to become full members of TfN.In line with the current representation of other areas, we have been invited on behalf of the Tees Valley, to nominate a political representative – a Council Leader to represent the partnership – and a senior business figure – for example, the LEP Chair. We have also been invited to nominate a senior official from Tees Valley as a representative on the TfN Executive Board.

TfN Investment Priorities

  1. Whilst there is still clearly much work to do, the initial TfN/One North Strategy (Northern Powerhouse, March 2015) outlines the following vision/priorities for the various workstream areas:
  1. Rail:
  • Liverpool to Manchester/Manchester Airport – journey time improvements, new lines
  • Manchester to Leeds – journey time improvements, enhanced existing lines
  • Manchester to Sheffield – improved connections, journey times, enhanced existing lines
  • Transpennine links – new rail lines from Manchester to Leeds and Sheffield
  • Leeds/Sheffield to Hull – capacity and journey time improvements
  • Sheffield to Leeds – HS2 to provide fast services
  • Leeds to Newcastle – capacity improvements for passenger and freight
  • Rail Station development – work on unspecified TransNorth major stations to mirror proposed HS2 investment at Leeds.
  1. Road:
  • Leeds to Manchester – M62 to four lane, A57/A61/A628 capacity improvements
  • North West – M6 to four lane, smart motorway (J16-19 and J21A-26)
  • North East – A1 and A19 capacity improvements
  • Ports – improved links to Liverpool (A5036), Hull (A63) and Immingham (A160/A180)
  • Congestion Hotspots – relief for A1 Western Bypass, M621 Leeds, N and W Manchester
  • Transpennine – explore major new link under Pennines between Manchester and Sheffield
  • Options for A66 Scotch Corner to Penrith upgrade
  • Options for A69 Newcastle to Carlisle upgrade
  • Options for resolving congestion in Manchester NW quadrant (M60/M62)
  • Options to solve other congestion (A1M, A64, M1/M62, M1 (J35a-39), M60, etc.)
  • Further enhancements through next round of route strategies
  1. Freight:
  • Many of above road improvements will benefit freight (A5036 Liverpool, M62/M60 upgrades, new Transpennine tunnels, potential A66/A69 options, A1M journey reliability, A19 improvements, A160/A180 and A63
  • Provision of a rail network that supports the effective N-S and E-W distribution of freight
  • TfN will work with Northern Ports to ensure expansion plans are fully accounted for (eg Peel Ports, Liverpool2 expansion, Major investment at Hull/Immingham, Able UK on South Humber Bank, Port of Tyne, Teesport Northern Gateway)
  • Development of a multi-modal freight and logistics strategy for the North.
  1. Integrated/Smart Travel:
  • Vision for a multi-modal ticketing solution for the North
  • An integrated Northern travel area with simplified fare zones/structures
  • A single smart ticketing solution
  • Pan-Northern travel information
  1. Airports:
  • More destinations for North’s 7 main airports (list includes DTVA)
  • High quality surface access to airports
  • Better rail connectivity to Manchester Airport
  • Continued success of Newcastle Airport
  1. City Region/Local Connectivity:
  • Better local connectivity to the priority areas for jobs growth
  • Better local rail, rapid transit and bus
  • Reliable city region networks
  • City centre regeneration driven by station/transport investment
  • Identification of key schemes beyond SEP horizons
  • HS2 Growth Strategies
  • Improved coordination between local and strategic road networks
  1. There is still a ‘grey-area’ in terms of what TfN consider to be transformational investment from a pan-Northern (as opposed to a City Region) perspective. Through the City Region Connectivity workstream we have already fed in our agreed strategic priorities and TfN have now suggested there is a further opportunity for City Regions to put forward schemes considered to be transformational in a Northern Powerhouse context – A19 Upgrade/Tees Crossing, Darlington Station, Electrification/Freight capacity.
  1. Overview of Tees Valley:

In participating in TfN it is critical that the Tees Valley representatives lobby for the inclusion of the key Tees Valley Strategic Priorities, which are summarised in the table below, which are critical to the economic welfare of the City Region and Middlesbrough.

Strategic Priority / Key Details Include
Tees Valley Strategic Growth Corridor / A19 Upgrade to Motorway standard
New Tees Crossing
East-West Connectivity Improvements (A66, A689, A174)
Tees Valley High Speed Rail Connectivity / Electrification (Northallerton - Teesport as first priority and then to Hartlepool, Darlington-Saltburn/Bishop Auckland and Whitby)
Darlington Station Improvements
Rolling stock and local connectivity improvements
Unlocking Tees Valley Freight Markets / Northern Gateway Container Terminal
Rail gauge Clearances

IMPACT ASSESSMENT (IA)

  1. An impact assessment in not required as this report is for information only

OPTION APPRAISAL/RISK ASSESSMENT

  1. The formation of Transport for the North is a major shift in emphasis regarding investment in transport infrastructure. To date the focus of the work has been on the ‘core cities’ and there is a danger that all the investment will migrate to those core cities and areas such as Tees Valley will have little overall benefit. It is important therefore to have a seat at the table and to lobby for the transformational schemes in the Tees Valley to improve our pan regional transport links and ensure the area benefits from the proposed uplift in investment.
  1. Thus there is a risk that we fully engage with the process yet still do not have schemes sufficiently high up the overall priority list to attract funding. If traditionally DfT funding application assessment tools are used, it is likely that the Tees Valley priorities will score lower than other national schemes mainly due to our current good highway network performance.

FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND WARD IMPLICATIONS

  1. Financial –To date work has been funded by the core cities and DfT, going forward as full members of TfN there is likely to be a financial contribution required but at this stage this is not yet known. Any requests for additional funding will be brought back to Executive for approval.
  1. Ward Implications –There are no direct ward implications and transformational projects will improve accessibility to employment for residents in all wards.
  1. Legal Implications – There will be a legal agreement covering the Governance of the Partnership Board which will need to be approved and signed by the Mayor.
RECOMMENDATIONS
  1. The Executive is recommended to:

a) take full advantage of the opportunity for Middlesbrough to take an active role in Transport for the North;

b) lobby for the inclusion of the critical Tees Valley improvements to form part of the funded long term strategy for the Northern Powerhouse to help drive economic growth.

REASONS
  1. To ensure that maximum benefits are gained for the Tees Valley through the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
BACKGROUND PAPERS

No background papers were used in the preparation of this report.

AUTHOR: Derek Gittins

TEL NO: 01642729636

______

Address:

Website:

1