Our letter to the Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister,

Transport-led growth: putting transport planning at the heart of the Government’s ambitions

I am writing on behalf of the Transport Planning Society to highlight the vital role that transport planning can play in delivering the Government’s ambitions for good growth, housing, and improved opportunities for communities across the country.

Your experience in Greater Manchester illustrates the benefits of integrating transport with wider policy objectives. The development of the Bee Network has demonstrated the value of considering transport as part of a broader approach to economic development, housing, public services and place-making, rather than viewing it solely as a transport intervention.

Too often, transport investment follows growth rather than enabling it. There is an opportunity to embed transport planning more fully within decisions about where and how development takes place, ensuring that new housing is supported by appropriate infrastructure and services, making effective use of existing networks and enabling travel by walking, wheeling, cycling, public transport and car.

The publication of Better Connected was an important step towards a more joined-up approach, while reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework have begun to embed stronger integration between transport and development. The challenge now is to ensure that these principles are translated consistently into investment decisions and delivery.

This will require not only the right policies, powers, and funding, but the professional skills and capacity to put them into practice. Transport planners bring together transport, land use, housing, economic development, and environmental objectives with an understanding of how, where, and why people travel.

They provide the evidence, insight and professional judgement needed to answer some of the most important questions facing the Government:

· Where should we invest to unlock housing and economic growth?

· How can we connect people to jobs, services and opportunities to tackle social inequality?

· How can we rapidly reduce harmful emissions from our transport network to tackle the climate emergency and give people cleaner air to breathe?

· How do we ensure that infrastructure investments deliver a more integrated and accessible transport system that works for everyone?

· Which transport interventions will deliver the greatest value for taxpayers?

Meeting these challenges requires skilled transport planners. The decisions they inform – including where new rail, mass transit, bus and active travel routes should be located and operated – have consequences lasting for generations.

There is, however, a growing workforce challenge. Transport planning is a specialist profession requiring technical expertise, analytical rigour, strategic thinking, and effective engagement with communities and businesses.

If the UK is serious about accelerating housing delivery, delivering a truly integrated and decarbonised transport network, and supporting regional economic growth, it must build and maintain the professional capacity needed to plan and deliver that ambition. Just as Government recognises the importance of engineers, planners, architects, surveyors and project managers to delivering national priorities, it should recognise transport planners as a strategically important profession whose expertise is essential to achieving its ambitions for good growth and a better-connected UK.

We therefore encourage the Government to:

· Recognise transport planning within national skills and workforce strategies, alongside other professions critical to delivering infrastructure and economic growth;

· Invest in transport planning capability across central, regional and local government, ensuring that public bodies have the expertise required to act as intelligent clients and make well-informed investment decisions;

· Work with organisations such as the Transport Planning Society to strengthen professional development pathways (including transport planning apprenticeships) and attract, develop and retain talented people across the sector;

· Promote professional standards in transport project delivery, including greater recognition of the Chartered Transport Planning Professional qualification in government projects and procurement; and

· Continue to provide local and regional leaders with the powers, long-term funding and flexibility required to deliver solutions reflecting local needs.

Building a strong pipeline of transport planners should be regarded as an essential part of the country’s infrastructure investment. The cost of developing and maintaining this capability is small; the cost of poor infrastructure decisions and delivery can be enormous.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you and your Ministers how the Transport Planning Society and the wider profession can support the Government’s good growth agenda.

Yours sincerely,

Nicola

Nicola Kane
Chair, Transport Planning Society