Transport for the North launches consultation on transforming the North’s transport

• Investment could create an economy in the North that would be £118bn p.a. larger in 2050 than current forecast estimates

Transport for the North (TfN) is today (Thursday 25 May) launching a 12-week statutory-consultation for its revised Strategic Transport Plan (STP) for the North of England.

The STP sets out the case to transform the North’s transport system and will be used, after consultation, to shape the statutory body's advice to government on the transport priorities for the North of England. It will form the blueprint for ensuring that economic investment will also decarbonise our transport system and create more opportunities in the North for the coming decades.

TfN wants to hear from everyone in the North. We are urging members of the public to submit their feedback on the North’s plan for strategic transport infrastructure, which will be analysed and fed into the final STP that will go before the North’s political and business leaders later this year for approval.

The 12-week consultation runs from Thursday 25 May to Thursday 17 August. As well as attending local partner meetings right across the region, TfN will be holding drop-in events virtually and in-person to hear views on the STP.

To attend any of the below drop-in sessions, please visit our website to register:

• Friday 16 June - Holiday Inn, Manchester (11am-3pm)
• Wednesday 5 July - The Queens Hotel, Leeds (11am-3pm)
• Friday 14 July - The Royal Station Hotel, Newcastle (11am-3pm)
• Monday 31 July - Virtual Workshop, details on TfN website (11am-3pm)

The public can also take part by visiting the virtual consultation room on TfN’s website.

The revised STP’s vision has been updated to reflect a wider set of outcomes the North wants to achieve by 2050. At its core, is a clear vision for the North’s transport network, supported by three strategic ambitions: transforming economic performance, rapid decarbonisation of the transport network and significantly reducing transport related social exclusion.

It includes metrics, underpinned by a robust monitoring and evaluation strategy, to measure our progress year-on-year, bringing a ‘golden thread’ between activities and outcomes. A major step forward from the previous plan, it means the revised STP:

Includes a “right share” metric that will support efforts to reduce car dependency and create the capacity required to accommodate growth on our public transport networks

Explicitly recognises the scale of change required in accessibility to unlock opportunity and reduce social exclusion

Sets out our pathway for near zero emissions from surface transport in the North of England by 2045

Puts in place a long-term ambition to double the share of freight carried by rail.

Lord McLoughlin, Chair of Transport for the North, said:

Over the next 12 weeks we want to hear from as many people as possible as part of our consultation for the strategic transport plan, on how we should transform transport in the North. Your views, comments and feedback will help us shape the plan to deliver the outcomes needed by citizens, businesses, and places across the region.

Our Strategic Transport Plan will set out our advice to government on how best the North, speaking with one voice, thinks we can reach a sustainable, socially inclusive transport network for the future.

We need to change how we plan for, develop, invest, and deliver transport infrastructure and services. The evidence in this STP shows how with sustained investment, the right policy levers and enabling behaviour change, we can truly transform the North.

The final STP is due to be published in early 2024 and will lay the foundations for the transport infrastructure investment for the North for decades to come. This is why it’s vital we hear from as many people as possible, so please visit our website or attend one of our workshops near you. And don’t miss your opportunity to have your say on how we transform the North.”