Transport and the Economy

Memorandum from West Midlands Friends of the Earth (TE 110)

Birmingham FOE and more recently West Midlands FOE have a long history of progressive campaigning with respect to transport within the region; eg initially campaigning for the pedestrianisation of parts of the City Centre and the removal of subways to make the City a more pleasant place in which to move about. The fruits of those campaigns are all too easy to see today; the City Council and local businesses have seen the benefits in more ways than one, including economic, and developed a city centre of which we can all be proud. There is still a long way to go and these initiatives have not been repeated to such an extent in other parts of the City where the car still dominates the urban scene.

Birmingham FOE along with cycling campaign group Pushbikes were instrumental in putting cycling on the map in the conurbation. Much of what has happened to increase cycling across the region has taken place despite, not because, of the local authorities. However, with smarter choices, the health agenda and more awareness of the huge value for money from such investments now is the time to bring cycling in from the cold. The development of the LTP 3 provides us all with the opportunity to get the West Midlands back in the saddle.

Birmingham FOE has a strong focus on reducing speeds on our roads to enable the City to become a much cleaner, greener and safer place in which to live, work and play. Much emphasis is on reducing speeds with a 20’s plenty campaign for much of the City’s streets to the fore. This would reduce air pollution, climate change emissions; encourage more people to walk and cycle, thereby improving the local economy. While this may result in a loss of revenue to the DfT from fuel duty this should be seen in a much more holistic manner of improving quality of life, reducing admissions to our hospitals and generating local economic activity.

Birmingham FOE and latterly WMFOE were involved in the campaigns during the late eighties and early nineties against major road schemes through the South of the City to accommodate traffic from the recently opened M40 on its journey to the City centre. This was a huge community-based campaign which enabled the City to embrace constraint of the long distance car commuter to benefit local residents. This campaign also highlighted the huge economic benefits which local shops on our arterial roads bring to the City and its communities, as opposed to car-dependant shops which take money out of the local economy and into the hands of the large multinationals.

Our campaigns then focussed on inter regional schemes such as the BNRR (lost as is evident by the M 6 Toll), the Western Orbital Motorway, M6 widening in a number of formats and widening of the M42 now operating with ATM.

We have actively been campaigning for much enhanced provision for the bus and local rail as well as improvements to the wider rail network and where appropriate Metro or ultra light rail. A long fought battle with the City council has been over bus lanes on the Tyburn Road to the north of the City. The bus lanes were introduced, BUT were quickly removed after local elections and to this day have not been restored and no other bus priority provisions on that route have been put in place to enhance the performance of the buses in that corridor. This highlights some of the real problems within the City in terms of benefiting the bus user and a real resistance to making real priority for the bus. This can be seen all over the City where bus priority lanes disappear just when they are needed; at the junctions. The bus is the workhorse of the City; one where over 30% (Appendix 2) of households do not have access to a car and yet the bus does not attract the support from the City it requires and bus passenger deserves. It has to be pointed out that buses in the West Midlands were deregulated whereas they were not in London.

Positive campaigns that Birmingham FOE has been involved recently have focussed on Bus Rapid Transit and the reopening of suburban railway lines and local railway stations. The support for walking and cycling has also continued as has an involvement in the Local Transport Plan process.

As we approach 2011 the major issue from this sub region is the focus on big is best and the lack of attention paid to the local economy, cycling, walking, provision for the less able and wider issues, such as air quality biodiversity loss, resource use and climate change.

The recent announcements from the CSR and transport decisions for this region were not dominated by road schemes and two were public transport focussed and a major the road scheme was one of ATM which, if introduced with strict 50 mph speed limits, could improve vehicle efficiencies and help with air quality. This could be a welcome step in the correct direction, we should be going much further if we are going to enable the transport sector to not only reduce its carbon emissions but to start to make the deep cuts required to meet the commitments within the Climate Change Act 2008. Also when we look at the DfT "Investment in Local Major Transport Schemes" for the conurbation the Midland Metro is in the Supported Pool, requiring more negotiations while there are some worrying road schemes within the pre qualification pool.

The other two items to raise that are high on the agenda are High Speed Rail, HS2, and the extension of the runway at Birmingham Airport.

We question HS2 on grounds of economy, especially for that of the West Midland, whether it will deliver on our climate change commitment, lack of connectivity with HS1 and the Continent, land take, biodiversity loss and loss of farmland, whether in these time it will distract from real transport solutions to all regions of the UK and take money away from more sustainable solutions. There are huge disagreements over the economic benefits or not of this proposal and we would urge the committee to delve much deeper than the current debate. If the majority of the economic benefits accrue to London and not to the more distant regions that this will enhance already wide regional disparities.

As far as the airport runway is concerned we acknowledge that the planning application was passed in 2009, we were surprised that the airport argued for a 7 year time-frame in which to start on the project. Recent information has indicated that the airport will now no longer require the full length of runway as planned for and as such will no longer need to place the A45 in a tunnel. We also hear that they will agree on the 3rd November at a BIA board meeting to pursue this strategy, BUT with the 7 local authorities of the West Midlands not only foregoing their allocation of share dividends but also public money from Birmingham City Council and possibly Solihull MBC paying to relocate the road. Is this the correct manner in which to fund the aviation industry??

The aviation industry often over estimates its impacts upon the local economy as can be seen in an article from the Birmingham Post in 2004 (see Appendix 1).

Have the UK’s economic conditions materially changed since the Eddington Transport Study and, if so, does this affect the relationship between transport spending and UK economic growth?

The economic situation has changed dramatically and we have seen the passing of the Climate Change Act 2008. This should bring forward greater emphasis on smarter choices agenda and the need to invest in ways of attracting people out of their cars especially in urban areas.

We have also seen the smarter choices programme delivering good value for money since the report was produced.

What type of transport spending should be prioritised, in the context of an overall spending reduction, in order best to support regional and national economic growth?

We should take support from road schemes away and invest in the smarter choices that will have a number of benefits for people their local environment and quality of life. This should come through in support for the Sustainable transport Growth Fund and not more money for large road schemes.

How should the balance between revenue and capital expenditure be altered?

There should be a greater emphasis on the benefits from revenue funding and against large capital projects. Again through the smarter choices programme we can get much better value from our inputs. This can be shaped in a number of interventions such as support for bus operators, cycle training better provision of information and coaching on how to use mass or public transport. Revenue spending can help with improving efficiencies, it can help reduce the need for investment in high cost capital projects by reducing demand and promoting alternatives.

Are the current methods for assessing proposed transport schemes satisfactory?

NATA many agree needs reform; from an overreliance on small time savings to the revenue from fuel duty and there are problems with the low costs of climate change emissions and the future thinking on the price of oil. A root and branch overhaul of NATA is required.

How will schemes be planned in the absence of regional bodies and following the revocation and abolition of regional spatial strategies?

We are moving into a new era of land use planning and the voids that are now appearing with the demise of the RSS are creating real problems as we try and plan our way out of our current problems. AS yet we have no clear idea as to how the LEP’s will work with Transport Authorities and ITA’s where they exist. Where will the mediation come from between not only one authority and another BUT the way in which a decision is made within the DfT, without the GO’s to advise with a real understanding of what is taking place in that particular region. The debates over regional priorities while vigorous were helpful to all concerned and produced an agreed set of priorities we will possibly now have no hierarchy and an increased number of bids coming in from more areas when the allocations available are increasingly smaller. A lot of hard work went into the regional DaSTS which could well be lost as could contacts on the ground with local people who know their patch. There will need to be an open and transparent process whereby interested parties can have a say and access to the information on future plans. Once again the role of smarter choices in this process will be invaluable.

In terms of what forms of spending should be prioritised the we would advocate the smarter choices options placing much more emphasis on walking, cycling and public transport and drawing out the benefits for health, quality of life and creating places where people want to be. Thus would be counter to the business as usual scenario of traffic dominated communities.

There should be far less emphasis on the loss of revenue from fuel duty and much greater emphasis on the real costs of the externalities from transport such as climate change, poor air quality, costs to the health sector and poor land use.

November 2010

Appendix 1

"Airport growth predictions prove wrong

Birmingham Post, Aug 9 2004

By Campbell Docherty

Birmingham International Airport has admitted figures predicting the economic benefits to the West Midlands of growth at the airport have proved dramatically wrong.

Campaigners against BIA expansion last night claimed the "rash" forecasts meant the region should take the airport's forthcoming case for a second runway - due in 2005 - with a "large pinch of salt".

BIA said considerable changes in the aviation industry were responsible for the wayward predictions, which were part of the evidence considered by Solihull Council's planning committee when it granted permission for passenger growth in 1996.

The airport produced a ten-year master plan in 1995, announcing the runway would be lengthened by 500 metres and a predicted 10.5 million passengers per year would be using the airport by 2005.

This, BIA claimed, would see an 80 per cent increase in jobs over the decade from 1994 at both the airport and in related local industries and a 120 per cent growth in wealth generated for the West Midlands economy.

However, according to the BIA website, the current economic impact of the airport - which remains on course to meet the 10.5 million passengers figure despite the runway extension still being on hold - is substantially less.

It shows there are now about 1,000 fewer jobs than 1994 and there has been only a 20 per cent increase in the airport's contribution to the region's coffers over the decade.

Chris Crean, from West Midlands Friends of the Earth which opposes the second runway, said: "The pain for local residents affected by airport expansion is always tempered by how many jobs are going to be created by the massive growth in noise and pollution.

"However this does not appear to be the case. BIA is growing according to plan with respect to passengers but not jobs.

"When they make their rash job predictions they should be taken with a large pinch of salt. This ten-year milestone has allowed us all to see the predictions from BIA for what they are.

"The Department for Transport should regard these significant shortfalls very seriously indeed.

"We would like to see year-on-year evaluation of the projections from the airport in terms of its job creation potential and value to the regional economy."

He added: "We clearly cannot believe the crystal balls of the operators of BIA.

"When they put their master plan up for consultation in 2005 we will expect rigour from the region and the local planning authority in how BIA spin out their projections of job creation and value to the regional economy."

An airport spokeswoman said: "Forecasts included in the airport's ten-year master plan, which was published in 1995, took into account the industry trends and patterns at that time.

"Since then, the aviation industry has changed considerably with, for example, the introduction of low fares airlines and internet bookings.

"We are currently compiling a draft master plan which will include research into the current and long-term economic and employment benefits that BIA brings to the region. This draft document is due to be released for consultation in mid-2005."

She added: "All industries evolve and aviation is no exception. We use the best figures available at the time, as does the Government.

"Predictions can never be 100 per cent accurate as circumstances like the Iraq war, Sars and 9/11 can and do make an impact on the industry.

"None of this detracts from the fact that aviation creates wealth across several sectors as well as many quality and long term jobs."

Transport economist Dr Pat Hanlon, from the University of Birmingham, said the airport did play a vital role in the West Midlands economy but said using ten-year predictions could be misleading.

"I would concede that such economic predictions are a notoriously difficult area to measure and it is valid to say that it is not advisable to emphasise them when talking about the impact of airport growth.

"However, in 1995 the original estimates may have been wide of the mark but it was right to assume that there would be a fillip to the economy from BIA expansion. There is a very real effect on a region by an expanding airport and areas that do not have airport growth tend to do quite poorly," he added.

Appendix 2 Car Ownership for Birmingham from West Midlands Public Health Observatory

http://www.wmpho.org.uk/localprofiles/population_carvan.aspx

Results for selected Local Authority

November 2010