Following a recent Climate Change Committee report highlighting the importance of decarbonising the UK’s transport network, the Institute of Civil Engineers says that a national transport strategy for England is needed, which could help infrastructure professionals, civil engineers, and transport experts be part of the solution and find ways to reduce transport’s impact by designing and implementing more sustainable transport systems to curb emissions.
A National Transport Strategy would provide clear outcomes to work towards and set of principles for sustainable road and rail development, and help align the efforts of engineers, policymakers, and other stakeholders, says the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE).
The ICE makes five key recommendations about what a national transport strategy for England should do and what it should look like, after consultation with transport professionals, industry, and civil society bodies earlier this year. These are:
• A national transport strategy for England should set out an overarching vision of a sustainable transport network;
• The strategy needs to establish a set of principles derived from its overarching vision that enable prioritisation of transport projects;
• The strategy should clarify the roles and responsibilities required of key stakeholders to deliver its overarching vision;
• A strategy has to be a long-term process which is agile and manages uncertainty;
• A future review should assess whether a UK-wide strategy is needed and how it could be developed.
Respondents to the consultation agreed with the ICE that many challenges transport bodies face would be best addressed by an overarching strategy with net zero and equity at its core. Those challenges include siloed thinking across different departments, organisations, and regions, long-term funding uncertainty, and the fact that transport planning is not well integrated with other planning such as energy, the ICE said.
ICE Trustee for policy and external affairs Jonathan Spruce said: “It’s rare to hear such agreement from the transport sector, but respondents to the Institution of Civil Engineers’ consultation were clear; we need to plan transport differently. To meet England’s environmental, social, and economic objectives, the Government needs to define desired outcomes and commit at the highest level to seeing plans through.
“It’s very encouraging the Transport Committee is actively seeking evidence on improving strategic transport planning, partially in response to the ICE’s work – we would welcome the chance to work collaboratively on this important issue as we strive to decarbonise our transport system.”
Addressing the question of why an English, and not UK-wide, strategy is proposed, the ICE noted that it was clear from consultation that some transport planning questions, such as how to decarbonise air travel, are best tackled at a UK-wide level. However, it said there was less clarity about how a UK-wide strategy could be implemented, and believes that establishing an English strategy, particularly focused on rail and road infrastructure, is a pragmatic first step.
Launching a national strategy for England would bring the country in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it believes, which all have their own national strategies, despite having much smaller populations, adding that a clear English strategy could be the basis for better collaboration between the four home nations.
Jonathan added: “Journeys and transport network infrastructure don’t stop at borders, and in the long-term, the whole UK will need to work together to answer questions like how air and maritime transport should evolve. To that end, the Government should publish a response to the Union Connectivity Review as soon as possible. However, we need to make significant strides quickly. Developing a transport strategy for England will help end the cycle of transport investment decisions that are blinkered, funded in the short-term, and disconnected from greater social, economic, and environmental outcomes.”
