Policies 2017

January

Highways England Consultation on its Emerging Economic Growth Plan 

The TPS response agreed that for the foreseeable future, the Strategic Road Network will have an important role to play, but questioned some of the conclusions of the Plan, particularly challenging the evidence for and examples of a direct link between the SRN and economic growth.

Click here to read the response HE Economic Growth Plan.docx

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Consultation on Air Pollution - Outdoor Air Quality And Health Guidelines 

The TPS welcomed the guidelines but argued for a more holistic role for the public health sector in transport planning.

Click here to read the  NICE - comments from TPS

March

Department for Transport and Office of the Secretary of State for Wales consultation on the Severn crossings: proposed toll reductions

The consultation sought views on the proposed halving of tolls on the Severn crossings.  The TPS response commented that several consequences of reducing tolls have yet to be understood and that it is premature to make the proposed reductions without further consideration of the issues.  For example, reducing the established funding stream available from the Severn Bridge Crossings does not seem helpful at this time of austerity.  Another concern was that the estimated 17% increase in traffic resulting from the proposed toll reductions is not clearly understood.  It concluded that the TPS iscontent with a simplification of the toll levels but at the same time, identified scope for more refined scales of charges than are proposed in order to promote air quality and climate change objectives.

Click here to read the Severn Crossing.pdf

Republic of Ireland Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Ireland 2040, the National Planning Framework

Our TPS Republic of Ireland region representatives prepared a response to this major national consultation for the preparation of a strategic planning and development framework for Ireland between now and 2040.  The response stated that we need to embrace this opportunity to ensure the NPF is robust, inclusive, ambitious and deliverable.  The TPS suggested that the Plan is supported by a well-informed timeframe for delivery, an Action Plan, that will guide delivery not just for the current Government, but also for many more to come.  It recognised that the NPF documents present a cross-sector approach to policy, which is encouraging and needs to be sustained through to delivery, as none of the key Government sectors can be viewed in isolation, for example, transport outcomes are potentially at the core of many Government departments, especially Health, Education and Planning.  Finally, we recommended that the NPF should be supported by a clear evaluation framework which can be monitored regularly to ensure delivery is within scope and contributing to the vision and objectives defined for the Plan.

Click here to read the Ireland NPF Submission.pdf

April

Department for Communities and Local Government Consultation on the Housing White Paper 

A substantial response from the TPS to this recent consultation highlighted that TPS members are strongly in favour of closer links between transport and land-use planning.  It urged the DCLG and the DfT to collaborate on housing and transport policies that work together to deliver environmental quality, secure social fabric, good services and reliable infrastructure in existing places as well as new locations.

Click here to read the  TPS response to Housing W...Paper 

May

Department for Transport’s draft Airports National Policy Statement on Heathrow Expansion 

TPS responded to this major consultation seeking views on the planning policy framework which the north-west runway at Heathrow Airport would have to comply with.  The TPS put forward a strong view that the current NPS should be withdrawn and a proper NPS should be developed with an effective, national strategy for airports and that if the Government proceeds with supporting Heathrow a number of requirements to reduce its impacts should be implemented.

Click here to read the TPS Draft NPS Heathrow submission 

October

The TPS responded to an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) consultation on limiting the range of employee benefits-in-kind that attract Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions advantages when provided as part of salary sacrifice arrangements.  Whilst the consultation was quite broad ranging, a number of these schemes affect transport related matters, so we were keen to respond.  Our response encouraged HMRC to continue its support in providing employees with travel choice, in particular the stimulus that the transport-related aspects of such schemes can make towards the choice of more sustainable forms of travel than the private car.  We highlighted that it is important that HMRC appreciates that there are wider consequences to changes to the Salary Sacrifice scheme than merely financial ones.

Click here to read the submission  HMRC Benefits in Kind - Final TPS response.pdf

October

Department of Transport New Aviation Strategy 

The TPS responded to a Department for Transport (DfT) consultation that sought views on the proposed approach for developing a new aviation strategy for the UK.  Our response recommended that the ‘overarching  principles’ of the proposed strategy should be revised to include: 1) regional development – ensuring that one region does not dominate investment in aviation infrastructure, 2) Protecting the environment – meeting our climate change obligations and reducing local pollution, and 3) Managing demand – for example to address environmental and regional issues but also the real economic impacts of aviation including the aviation tourist trade imbalance.

Click here to read the submission Aviation strategy d2.pdf

November

Department for Communities and Local Government consultation on 'Planning for the right homes in the right places’ 

The consultation is primarily about changing the method of calculating housing needs to reduce the complexity, cost and time taken, and to make the process more transparent.  The TPS response felt that a primary focus on the minutiae of estimating housing needs is not helpful from a cross-cutting consideration like transport, which barely gets a mention in the consultation paper.  While we agree the need to identify the ‘right homes’ and to ensure their provision in the ’right places’, we consider that the consultation proposals as a whole do not deliver on either aim, nor do they, in our view, meet even DCLG’s more limited process concerns: indeed in some important respects the proposals make matters worse on both process and outcomes.  We highlighted that the TPS vision is that transport planning should contribute to making places that are not only well connected, but also attractive, productive and sustainable; ‘decide and provide’ rather than ‘predict and provide’.

Click here to read the TPS response to 'Right ho...tation, Final 7 Nov17.pdf

November

Mayor's Transport Strategy 

The TPS generally supports the draft plan as a bold and visionary transport strategy that, if successful, will introduce a step change in the quality of life in London.  It is wide ranging in its consideration of London’s transport system and comprehensive in the range of issues examined and proposals put forward.  The TPS response pushes the Mayor for more urgent action on air quality, road safety and congestion, and to set different targets for different parts of London, recognising the significantly different transport characteristics of central and outer London.

The TPS also recognises that many of the proposals in the Strategy require encouragement, research, feasibility study, and unspecified scales of improvement.  Quantifying the scale of individual interventions and their effects on the outcomes as a whole is a further piece of work to be done, and will have a key bearing on the level of investment needed to deliver a successful transport strategy for London.

Click here to read the Draft Mayors Transport St...ltation response.pd

 November 

ITC Consultation: What is the contribution of peak and off-peak travel to the urban economy ?

In this consultation on the value of peak and off-peak travel to the urban economy, the TPS raised concerns about a return to transport planning and evaluation methodologies that placed undue emphasis on meeting peak hour demands.  We advised that the immediate economic benefits of a wider labour market at traditional commuting times needs to be set against the longer-run negative consequence of more dispersed locational choices generating additional travel demands and congestion costs throughout the day.  In our view, recent trends of peak spreading, increased off peak and leisure (weekend) travel strengthens the case for a broader approach, giving particular attention to land-use effects and interventions.

Click here to read the response TPS response - ITC Peak Offpeak Travel.pdf

December 

Heathrow expansion: DfT’s revised draft Airports National Policy Statement

This submission builds on previous recent submissions by the TPS and identifies new issues raised by the updated material in the revised NPS.  These include the potential to confuse the target audience with the changing demand forecasts and methodologies for estimating direct and wider economic benefits that undermine the Government’s preference for the third runway at Heathrow.

Click here to read the response: TPS Revised Draft NPS Heathrow - Dec 2017.pdf