On Wednesday, 3rd November 2010 the WLGA organised a meeting for Transport Cabinet Members. A central theme for the meeting was the issue of ‘Transport Futures’ – what do we need to be doing today to develop transport/access solutions that will be resilient in the longer term, in the face of challenges such as peak oil/energy security, climate change, flood risk etc.
Bruce Cockrean from 'Global to Local' has been working with the WLGA under its Sustainable Development Framework. In his address he stressed the need to consider options for the future in terms of their capacity, resilience and affordability. For example, if we want to see modal shift, does public transport have the capacity to deal with the scale of change required? Should we really be aiming to reduce overall demand for motorised transport (e.g. through better planning, more use of ICT, more ‘active transport’ through walking and cycling solutions)? If we believe electric vehicles are a way forward, is there the renewable energy capacity to support this? Can electric vehicles provide a solution in rural areas? Will our investments in transport be resilient in the face of increased risks from flooding and coastal erosion? Increased summer temperatures? And, having considered these capacity and resilience issues, how can we use available resources to achieve best transport outcomes?
The main points from the rest of the meeting were:
- The Deputy First Minister & Minister for Economy and Transport, Ieuan Wyn Jones made it clear that transport will be affected by the major cuts in capital funding arising from the Comprehensive Spending Review, but he stressed that by central and local government working together the impact could be lessened, e.g. through streamlining funding processes and cutting out bureaucracy and making maximum use of European funding opportunities: Assembly Government and councils work together for future transport needs of Wales;
- The Deputy First Minister met with the WLGA Spokesperson and the four Regional Transport Consortia (RTCs) chairs and agreed to the proposal of holding such a meeting twice a year;
- Dewi Rowlands from WAG outlined a number of reviews that have been taking place which cover grants administration, road safety, WELTAG, monitoring and evaluation and Trunk Road Agencies. In particular, Dewi identified plans to reduce the number of different grant schemes and to streamline the processes of applying for and monitoring these grants, with RTCs playing a bigger role in co-ordinating the bidding, aligned with regional strategies. Governance arrangements are also being reviewed. The plan is to establish a national steering group to bring together the main agencies and, beneath this and reporting to it, a range of groups responsible for delivery and implementation;
- Colin Eaketts from WAG then outlined the areas to be covered by the blue badge review and bus subsidies. He offered to come out and talk to groups of local authorities if they are interested in finding out more detail about these reviews;
- Each of the four RTCs provided an update on their work;
- WLGA gave an overview of the salt current restocking situation in preparation for Winter 2010;
- ATCO provided an update on key issues relating to public transport.
For more information contact: Tim Peppin