Written evidence from Westminster City
Council (TE 82)
1. Westminster City Council welcomes the opportunity
to comment on the Transport Select Committee Review of Transport
and the Economy.
2. The Eddington Report considered primarily
the national transport network. However we believe that there
are pressing reasons to give at least equal weight to the transport
responsibilities of local authorities. The Network Management
Duty was introduced by the Traffic Management Act 2004 and came
into force in early 2005. This duty places a specific responsibility
on highway authorities to manage their traffic network to keep
traffic moving and effectively plan to avoid congestion or disruption.
3. The Network Management Duty reflects the importance
of local traffic management to a healthy local economy. In Westminster,
this is an absolutely vital concern. Although it covers only 8½
square miles, Westminster's economy generates approximately 2%
of the UK's GDP. The economy of areas such as Westminster is therefore
not simply a local or regional interest, but of real import to
the national economy.
4. This is a critical time for the economy and
for public finances. We believe that all public bodies - from
local authorities to central government - should bear their fair
share of spending reductions.
5. The growing pressure on the public purse,
however, means that it is important to invest in a manner which
delivers the maximum proportionate impact. Often this can involve
smaller projects which have a significant impact on local economies
for relatively low cost. Similarly, thought must be given to adequately
maintaining existing assets.
6. Thought should also be given to how the funding
of transport improvements can be delivered in a more transparent
way. In particular, government should consider how revenue can
be raised for investment in transportation in a transparent and
fair manner.
TRANSPORT IN
WESTMINSTER
- Almost 120,000 vehicles entering Central London
each rush hour.
- 206 miles of road managed by the Council.
- Four mainline railway stations.
- 32 tube stations and 10 tube lines.
- 87 bus routes.
THE CASE
FOR A
LOCAL VIEW
7. The Eddington Report concerned itself primarily
with issues of national interest, such as high-speed rail, air
travel, and arterial transport. Investment in these areas does
of course also have a significant local impact, but the scope
of such projects decidedly national. This submission will therefore
not focus on projects such as Crossrail whose impact and implementation
is beyond the scope of a single authority or group of authorities.
8. Similarly, we agree that the health of the
economy at the national level is critical to the wellbeing of
local economies. However, the inverse is equally true: The fiscal
wellbeing of the UK is dependent on thriving local economies,
and there are specific local matters which affect economic competitiveness
but are not necessarily captured by a macro view.
9. Small and Medium Enterprises, for example,
are a vital element of the economy, both as economic entities
in their own right, and as breeding grounds for entrepreneurship
and innovation. Such businesses may not operate at a national
level but often rely heavily on effective local transport networks.
Supporting small business through transportation is as much a
matter of bus routes and adequate parking as major arterial road
links and runways.
10. Despite its role as a home for big business,
even in Westminster the local economy is dominated by SMEs - with
70% of our businesses employing fewer than five people. This highlights
the need to sustain local economies, both for the social and economic
wellbeing of individual communities, and the economic recovery
of the country as a whole.
11. Similarly, traffic management decisions taken
at local level can have a significant impact on the local economy.
Westminster is the largest parking authority in the UK and our
approach to unloading and commercial deliveries in the congested
streets of the capital has a significant impact on the wellbeing
of the city's businesses. The seriousness of this role is reflected
in our close work with commercial operators and the Freight Transport
Association.
12. We believe that the economic competitiveness
of the UK is intimately connected with the effective management
and resourcing of local transportation schemes as well as the
larger, long term capital projects. Indeed, the regular feedback
that Westminster receives from its businesses on the subject of
transport attests to its importance.
THE CURRENT
ECONOMIC SITUATION
13. The UK economy has clearly changed substantially
since the release of the Eddington Report in 2006, with a serious
recession and the subsequent response of the previous and current
governments. Although the position will become clearer following
the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review in October, it
appears that all branches of government (except NHS and International
Aid) will be required to find savings of between 25% and 40%.
14. The impact on national transport spending
is reflected by the evidence given by the Secretary of State to
the Transport Select Committee:
"The first of course is the priority of the
government to address the deficit. That must be the overriding
priority and transport, like every other department, will have
to make its contribution to addressing the challenges of getting
Britain's deficit down."
15. There is, however, a distinction to be made
between the national and the local. Large-scale transport improvements
are delivered over long timescales with substantial, phased investment.
The types of works undertaken by local authorities, though ambitious,
are by their nature shorter in duration and more limited in scale.
They are therefore more vulnerable to reductions in spending.
16. Westminster as a local authority has continued
to invest in capital improvements to the transport infrastructure.
Over the past two years we have invested substantially, both to
improve Central London and also to develop local markets. In both
cases this targeted investment has supported the local economy.
17. For example, works at Oxford Circus to improve
the pedestrian environment have resulted in significant financial
benefits, estimated at £6.5 million a year in terms
of journey time savings alone. This project generated a further
£10.5 million investment into subsequent West End improvements.
These benefits were realised at a time when the economy was still
in recession, demonstrating the important of targeted transport
improvements to the economy. With the acknowledged position of
Oxford Street as the UK's high street, these improvements have
a reach far beyond the local area.
PRIORITISATION OF
TRANSPORT SPENDING
18. The review itself stressed the importance
of supporting existing transport networks in support of economically
productive urban areas and their catchments:
"To meet the changing needs of the UK economy,
Government should focus on improving the performance of existing
transport networks, in those places that are important to the
UK's economic success"
19. Crossrail, which addresses overcrowding in
London's existing public transport network whilst improving access
to London from surrounding areas, meets the criteria set out in
the Eddington Review. However, the review also noted that transport
planners should not be "seduced by 'grands projets'"
but be prepared to invest in small, high-impact schemes.
20. We believe that it is important that "transport
spending" be considered in the widest sense as investment
in the public realm. This approach acknowledges the importance
of the "environment" in its broadest sense to supporting
the transportation network, and helps to ensure that pedestrians,
cyclists and similar road users are included consideration of
transport.
21. The Secretary of State's interest in street
clutter is a reflection of this approach, and reflects the importance
of supporting pedestrian movement as a transport option in its
own right. Within Westminster and its neighbours, for example,
the Legible London wayfinding project aims to offer an alternative
to short public transport journeys by highlighting local walking
routes. The links between the public realm in general and transport
in particular are perhaps most vividly linked when we consider
shared surface schemes where the division between "pavement"
and "carriageway" is elided.
22. We have already noted in this submission
that relatively small investments in the fabric of Central London
have generated significant returns, both in terms of ancillary
investment and in supporting local commerce. In the case of improvements
to Oxford Circus, the project was delivered in about six months
by the Council working with local landowners and other public
agencies.
23. At the same time, infrastructure has a limited
lifespan. Failure to invest effectively in maintenance and repair
in the short to medium term will lead to larger capital costs
when transport infrastructure requires major upgrading. It is
therefore vital to ensure that responsible bodies, whether councils
or other transport authorities, are adequately funded. Within
London, the Tube network provides an excellent example of a transport
system which now requires enormous capital investment due to inadequate
routine maintenance and improvement.
24. Given the limitations on government funding,
the most sensible approach to the prioritisation of transport
funding is to target investment at smaller-scale projects in key
areas, and at the maintenance of existing transportation networks.
This approach is consistent with that set out in Eddington's review.
REVENUE AND
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
25. Various authorities have identified the need
to identify more effectively the way in which payments are used
across the transport sector, whether from train fares or fuel
duty revenue. For example, a recent study by the RAC found that
net support for road pricing rose from -47% to +12% when the proposals
were fully explained to those questioned.
26. A more transparent approach to the taxation
and funding of transport projects an approach could therefore
generate greater public support. A move to transparency would
also help to ensure that transport income is invested appropriately
and help combat the public opinion that transport-based revenue
generation is essentially a form of taxation by stealth, as well
as it would also complement the general drive towards transparency
in government.
27. Eddington recognises that improvements in
the transport infrastructure have broader economic benefits. The
funding arrangements for the Crossrail project recognise this
through a Supplementary Business Rate, which is intended to raise
about 1/3 of the total cost of the project. Under this arrangement
businesses in London help to support the development of a project
that will benefit the local economy. Although there were debates
over the implementation of SBR, the Institute of Directors commented:
"The IoD recognises the important financial
contribution that business can make to defined projects with agreed
benefits to enterprise, such as Crossrail".
28. This approach clearly supports the position
outlined at the beginning of this section, where taxpayers will
support contributions to projects where the scope of investment
and the benefits are clearly defined. (The success of subscription-funded
business improvement districts is another example of how this
approach can work.)
29. With lower levels of public spending, such
approaches have the potential to play an increasingly important
role in supporting local transport improvements. However this
should be seen as a first step in part of a broader reform of
local taxation. Westminster and its partners continue to lobby
for localisation of business rates which will give both make local
authorities more accountable to local ratepayers, and give a clearer
understanding of how locally generated income is invested.
30. Reforming the way in which local authorities
raise income for local projects will enable a far more nuanced
approach to investment in local transport infrastructure. It can
also allow businesses themselves to have a much stronger say over
whether local improvements can be expected to benefit the local
economy. The position will vary across the country - and the expert
voice of local business is vital in ensuring a fair and effective
local settlement.
September 2010
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