Written evidence from Network Rail (ARSS
101)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies (RSSs)
will have implications for both national and local decision-makers
and transport providers since Regional Transport Strategies (RTSs)
formed a key element of RSSs.
It is important that suitable duties, powers and
incentives are put in place, in the forthcoming Localism and Decentralisation
Bill, to facilitate effective long term transport planning at
a sub-national level by national government, Local Planning Authorities
(LPAs) and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).
At national level, it will be important that policy
and guidance is specific enough to give certainty to planning
authorities and developers at the sub-national level. The National
Policy Statements, together with the National Planning Framework
and the National infrastructure Plan, will be important in this
respect.
Given this growing demand for rail, and building
on the close, constructive relationship Network Rail has with
a number of RDAs, we hope that LPAs and LEPs will work closely
with us and the broader rail industry and national government
to both shape and fund the future development of the network.
We believe there should be a duty placed on LPAs and LEPs to demonstrate
that they have considered relevant rail industry plans, in determining
their priorities and formulating their transport plans.
Decision makers—at both national and sub-national
level—should also be better able to integrate the planning
of transport with related areas such as regeneration and housing.
Network Rail has just published a study arguing that the present
way of assessing transport, housing and regeneration investment
does not do enough to focus that investment to make the largest
possible contribution to the economy. We hope the government will
consider these issues in the forthcoming bill.
We hope that LPAs and LEPs will also be given the
funds, powers and incentives to contribute financially to the
development of the railway in their regions.
The arrangements which should be put in place
to ensure appropriate cooperation between local planning authorities
on matters formerly covered by regional spatial strategies (eg
waste, minerals, flooding, the natural environment, renewable
energy, &c.)
1. The abolition of RSSs will have implications
for both national and local decision-makers and transport providers.
RTSs formed a key part of RSSs, given the importance of transport,
and rail in particular, in supporting growth and prosperity in
regional economies and guiding such things as housing provision,
economic development, environmental and social priorities.
2. At a local level, the government has announced
that the forthcoming Localism and Decentralisation Bill will establish
LEPs. It may be too early to specify in detail how schemes should
planned within this new structure and it may vary from place to
place.
3. However, it is important that suitable duties,
powers and incentives are put in place, in the bill, to facilitate
effective long term transport planning at a sub-national level
by national government, Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) and
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).
4. At the national level, the government's National
Policy Statements and the National Planning Framework (that will
be proposed in the forthcoming Localism and Decentralisation Bill)
will need to be specific enough about developments at the sub-national
level to give some certainty to developers and planning authorities.
5. Alongside this, we also believe that the forthcoming
Localism and Decentralisation Bill should place a duty on LPAs
and LEPs to produce transport plans along with appropriate incentives
and powers to ensure they properly plan and fund transport provision,
including rail, in their areas. These plans should be fully integrated
with other relevant planning documents at the national and local
level such as Local Development Frameworks and the plans and policies
of Integrated Transport Authorities, National Policy Statements
and the National Planning Framework.
6. According to DfT guidance on producing RTSs
for RSSs, they should provide a long term planning framework for
transport in the region and "be developed as an integral
and clearly identifiable part of RSS and contribute towards the
integration of realistic and affordable transport, spatial and
economic planning policies within the RSS".[137]
7. In the context of the railway, such long term
frameworks are vital given that demand from rail passengers and
freight will continue to grow strongly and the future long term
development of the network needs to be planned to meet this.
8. Britain's regions rely on rail. It is essential
in underpinning sustainable (as the most environmentally friendly
mass transport mode) economic growth at a local, regional and
national level. Every year 1 billion of the 1.3 billion rail journeys
made are by commuters or business travellers and rail transports
100 million tonnes of goods.
9. A report just published by the Centre for
Cities—"On Track - Why rail matters"[138]
looks at how rail projects support business interaction, connect
people to jobs, open up new markets and increase competition and
productivity in the city regions. This is echoed by a report by
the Passenger Transport Executive Group from 2004 that states
"….rail networks are hugely important to our City
Regions. In these conurbations rail is often a major mode; indeed
for some types of travel it will be the dominant mode. As such,
rail's success or failure, growth or decline, has great ramifications".[139]
10. Nationally, passenger demand has grown by
40% and freight by 50% over the last decade and, as figures just
published by the Association of Train Operating Companies demonstrate,
this growth is continuing despite the recent economic downturn.
11. Looking to the future, rail's role is set
to increase further. In the short term, growth has already resumed
after the recession. Figures published by the Association of Train
Operating Companies (ATOC) show passenger numbers growing by 5%
per year in the first half of 2010; while growth in deep sea intermodal
freight actually continued throughout the recession, albeit at
a reduced rate. In the longer term, demand in key regional commuter
markets—such as Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and
Bristol—are set to see very strong growth in demand due
to increasing road congestion, structural changes in employment
and travel patterns. A demand increase of over 100% is forecast
by 2034 and an increase in market share for rail over commuting
by car. Other regional and rural markets are due to see growth
of between 90% and 115% up to 2034.
12. Given this growing regional demand, and building
on the close, constructive relationship Network Rail has with
a number of RDAs, we hope that LPAs and LEPs will work closely
with us and the broader rail industry and national government
to both shape and fund the future development of the network.
13. LEPs, in particular, will need to play a
key role in taking a broad but co-coordinated approach to transport
planning across local authority boundaries (ie the real economic
areas in which people travel to work and businesses engage with
their customers and suppliers), with other key bodies such as
integrated Transport Authorities. In the words of a report on
LEPs entitled "Beyond the boundaries" just published
by the Centre for Cities "Cities' real economic footprints
go beyond their administrative boundaries. By local authorities
and businesses working together on issues such as skills, housing
and transport they can achieve better outcomes".[140]
14. Network Rail publishes a number of route-specific
and network wide documents (notably the Network Statement, Strategic
Business Plan, Route Utilisation Strategies and Route Plans) to
plan the future development of the rail infrastructure based on
demand for freight and passenger capacity, which can greatly aid
the planning process at both the national and sub-national level.
15. These Network Rail publications, and the
consultation processes around them, can provide the basis for
the rail elements of LPA and LEP transport plans. We hope that
LPAs and LEPs will play a full part in both shaping these plans
and taking full account of them when developing their own strategies.
16. In particular, LPAs and LEPs should input
into Network Rail's route-specific and network wide planning documents
and consultations and participate in the six monthly planning
conferences that our network development team currently organise
for local authority planning officers to further encourage joined-up
working and engagement with the railway planning process.
17. Network Rail has just published initial proposals
for the long term development of the network in partnership with
the rest of the industry[141]
and would greatly value the input of
LPAs and LEPs in the next stage of this process. "Planning
Ahead-The Long Term Planning Framework", published in
August, sets out our view of the longer term opportunities for
rail due to population and economic growth and the impact of external
trends such as increasing road congestion.
The adequacy of proposals already put forward
by the Government, including a proposed duty to co-operate and
the suggestion that Local Enterprise Partnerships may fulfil a
planning function
18. We understand that there might be duties
on Local Planning Authorities and organisations such as Network
Rail regarding information sharing to assist the development of
local development frameworks in the forthcoming Localism and Decentralisation
Bill.
19. We believe this duty should also be extended
to LEPs and based on demonstrating that they have considered all
relevant published documentation produced by Network Rail and
the rest of the industry, particularly Route Utilisation Strategies
and Route Plans, in determining their priorities and formulating
their regional transport plans. Specifically, they should consider
how their proposals will impact on rail capacity and whether they
need to financially support enhancements to the network.
20. LEPs will also have a key role in the identification
and delivery of projects funded by the Regional Growth Fund proposed
by the government. As investment in transport often has impacts
beyond individual local authority boundaries, LEPs should take
a lead in shaping those requirements and be given authority to
drive those priorities through their plans. To that end, Network
Rail believes there should be a presumption in favour of development
where both LEP and local community support such a project.
21. We hope that decision makers, at both national
and sub-national level, will be able to integrate the planning
of transport with related areas such as regeneration and housing.
Network Rail has just published a study—"Prioritising
investment to support our economy"—arguing that
the present way of assessing transport, housing and regeneration
investment does not do enough to focus that investment to make
the largest possible contribution to the economy.[142]
We hope the government will consider how to take forward these
issues in the forthcoming bill.
22. Network Rail understands that LEPs will be
focused on private sector-led economic development, primarily
targeting regional growth and employment and we support the need
to develop these plans across economic regions. However, rail
infrastructure must remain a priority in order to support such
growth. We therefore hope that LPAs and LEPs will also be given
the funds, powers and incentives to contribute financially to
the development of the railway in their regions. For example,
LEPs should be able to pool planning obligation revenue (eg from
the successor to the Community Infrastructure Levy) to support
the enhancement of rail infrastructure. We hope the government
will also consider innovative ways to enable and incentivise LEPs
to raise money for key infrastructure enhancements at a sub-national
level, such as local government bonds, Tax Incremental Funding
and Accelerated Development Zones.
September 2010
137 www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/strategy/regionalspatialstrategiesgui3762?page=1#a1000 Back
138
http://centreforcities.typepad.com/10-07-21%20On%20Track%20web.pdf Back
139
www.pteg.net/NR/rdonlyres/08591B39-0DF6-4CBB-8448-BB2E8AA333CD/0/FinalReporttoPTEGMarch2004.pdf Back
140
www.centreforcities.org/assets/files/10-09-07%20Beyond%20the%20Boundaries.pdf. Back
141
Copies of documents can
be provided to the committee and are available at www.networkrail.co.uk
Back
142
www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/Resource-Library/Prioritising-investment-to-support-our-economy-ee4.aspx Back
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