The RTPI welcomes the draft Strategic Transport Plan (STP) from Transport for the North (TfN). This marks a welcome return to strategic plan-making in the North of England and complements the English devolution agenda.
The value of the document is that it:
* provides a comprehensive analysis of current challenges across the north, including historic underinvestment in transport infrastructure and the maintenance of existing assets;
* Makes a clear case for additional transport investment in order to unlock transformative growth;
* Clearly demonstrates the spatial relationship between transport infrastructure, prime and enabling capabilities and key employment clusters, using high quality visual tools;
* Provides scenarios by which to better understand the relationship between transport, urban growth and technological change;
* Creates opportunities to improve the transport appraisal process by packaging individual schemes and connecting them to key economic, social and environmental issues, which show the wider benefits that can be achieved.
The STP also provides a necessary mechanism to arrive at a consensus on scheme prioritisation, funding and phasing. The final STP should drive this forward by setting out a clear portfolio of projects, detailing the feasibility studies and business case, start and completion dates, and sources of funding.
The RTPI response to this consultation focuses on the integration between the STP and spatial planning at various sub-regional levels.
