Driving the green transport agenda

A delegation from the Campaign for Better Transport charity visited Nottingham in February to learn about how the city has led the way in sustainable transport initiatives. Campaigns manager Michael Solomon Williams gives some background to the organisation and what it learned during a presentation and tour also attended by the Chamber.

The Campaign for Better Transport is the leading transport charity in England and Wales. Occupying a unique space between Government, industry, NGOs and the public, and maintaining the trust and respect of all, we have a significant track record of influencing transport policy development over half a century.

This year marks our 50th anniversary, and it was a pleasure for me and Norman Baker, our director of external affairs and former transport minister, to visit Nottingham recently.

We were treated to a fantastic insight into work being done by the council, transport operators and businesses to transform Nottingham into a city that is fast becoming an example for others.

Norman signed off the extension of Nottingham’s superb tram network when he was a minister, so he was delighted to see the expanded network, including a trip to the Queen’s Medical Centre – incredibly the only hospital in the country with a tram stop.

NOTTINGHAM: TRANSPORT TRAILBLAZER

Local transport networks have always been integral to our work. We actually proposed the idea nearly 50 years ago of an integrated network for London with ringfenced spending powers, and Transport for London now enjoys high public confidence.

It is just fantastic to see Nottingham now blazing its own trail with the highly successful integration of tram, train, bus and bike – and seamless interchange between modes.

One of the most exciting success stories for Nottingham is the outstanding impact of the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL). This scheme, the first of its kind in Europe, has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary and has had extraordinary results, directly raising more than £90m and enabling inward investment of over £1bn in sustainable transport for Nottingham.

‘Businesses now say they chose to locate themselves in Nottingham because of the quality of the transport network’

Moreover, a majority of businesses now say they chose to locate themselves in Nottingham because of the quality of the transport network. Truly superb.

Walking around the city centre, hopping on and off trams, trains and buses, the quality of life is clearly much improved, with thoughtful road space allocation, vehicles of all kinds flowing smoothly and pedestrians able to walk safely. And that’s even before the exciting Broad Marsh development, which will turn the city centre into a life-enhancing wonderland, bound to attract millions to the city centre.

Economic Benefits Of Sustainable Transport

The positive impact of public transport on the environment is relatively well known, but its benefits to businesses receive less attention.

This works both ways, as while public transport brings billions of pounds into local economies and to the tax purse, congestion costs us £7bn per year, so improving one and reducing the other makes complete sense. In Nottingham, the WPL has reduced congestion growth by 47% and saved the city £15m per year, so congratulations are very much in order.

Major business groups know that better transport means better business, and we work closely with all, including the CBI, IoD, FSB and regional Chambers of Commerce. The FSB has told us how important it is for the best talent to be retained, and this is much easier for businesses where the transport networks are strong, and where quality of life is good as a direct result.

Business has boomed in London for decades, thanks in large part to its transport network. Nottingham now means business too.