Political and business representatives from Transport for the North (TfN) have met with Lord Adonis, the Chair of the new National Infrastructure Commission, in Liverpool this week as part of his two-day fact-finding visit to the north of England.
The discussions that took place between Lord Adonis, Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, Chair of Merseytravel, Cllr Liam Robinson, Frank Rogers, Interim Chief Executive of Merseytravel, Robert Hough, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, Bernard Molloy, Global Industrial Logistics Director, Unipart and Chair of Superport, and Ben Miller, Partner, DLA Piper, mark the first step for TfN in its development of a strong case to the commission for pan-northern, transformational investment in transport infrastructure.
Lord Adonis was accompanied by TfN’s new Chief Executive David Brown throughout the visit, which also included sessions with representatives from Manchester, Hull and the Humber, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle.
The meetings saw discussion of a wide range of topics related to connecting cities and towns in the North – the challenges, the benefits and opportunities to drive economic growth, and the supporting evidence that underpins TfN’s Northern Transport Strategy.
Said Cllr Liam Robinson, Chair of Merseytravel and the Liverpool City Region representative for TfN:
“As Northern connectivity is one of the commission’s core areas for focus, this was a great opportunity for us to present to Lord Adonis what we’re looking to achieve for the Liverpool City Region and the wider north through the development of a Northern Transport Strategy,
“We believe that full high speed connectivity East to West and North to South will enable Liverpool to play a key role in the delivery of the Northern Powerhouse, benefitting the whole of the North . This is the central tenet of our ongoing ‘Linking Liverpool’ campaign.
“We welcome the support of the National Infrastructure Commission and Government in helping drive forward Transport for the North’s ambitious agenda.”
During the visit a Call for Evidence was launched by the commission, inviting all interested parties to make submissions on its initial three areas of focus. Lord Adonis said: “To make the North a powerhouse once again we need a new era of infrastructure investment. The National Infrastructure Commission will look broadly at long-term needs and provide impartial advice to Government and Parliament.
“I am delighted that the Call for Evidence is being launched in the north of England. We have seen great steps forward in the North’s infrastructure, including Airport City in Manchester and the new deep water port in Liverpool. This Call for Evidence will support the Commission to make the infrastructure of the North greater still.”
TfN is a unique partnership between Northern local transport authorities, Government and the National Transport agencies. It was created in 2014 to allow the North to identify how best to drive economic growth through strategic investment in transport and allows the North to speak with one voice on the big decisions which benefit the region as a whole. The process to appoint an independent Chair before the end of 2015 is underway. Plans are also in place to develop TfN into a statutory body by 2017, supported by the government’s recent commitment to put regional transport bodies – like Transport for the North – on a statutory footing with the publication of proposals in Parliament.
The newly formed National Infrastructure Commission is charged with offering unbiased analysis of the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs. Lord Adonis’ team is working closely with TfN and its partner northern authorities to establish the evidence base and identify the options for future investment in strategic transport infrastructure, with a view to improving connectivity between cities, particularly east-west across the Pennines.
For further information on TfN, please see www.transportforthenorth.com.