An Integrated Transport Strategy For Western Scotland

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Rodney Mortimer, Manager of the West of Scotland Transport Partnership (WESTRANS), spoke about the WESTRANS/SPT Integrated Transport Strategy for the west of Scotland and its potential implications for the Firth of Clyde area.

The presentation began by giving some background to WESTRANS and how it was set up. Before 1996, transport planning was undertaken by Strathclyde Regional Council. Following 1996 and the reorganisation of Strathclyde Regional Council, transport planning was undertaken by a combination of Structure Plan Committees, Strathclyde Passenger Transport and local authorities individually. WESTRANS was also set up at this time.

WESTRANS is the voluntary regional transport partnership for the west of Scotland. A core team of four staff have been in place since May 2004. WESTRANS is made up of a membership of 13 local authorities and Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT). It includes the 8 local authorities in the Glasgow & Clyde Valley area (Glasgow City, East and West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, North and South Lanarkshire), East, North and South Ayrshire, Argyll & Bute and Dumfries & Galloway Councils.

Rodney Mortimer then moved onto giving a national perspective on transport in the Firth of Clyde by outlining the main points of the Scottish Executive's White Paper, Scotland's Transport Future. This paper proposes that a new Scottish transport agency will be formed in 2005/06. It also proposes that Regional Transport Partnerships and the production of Regional Transport Strategies are due to become statutory in the Transport Bill in 2005. The Regional Transport Strategy will make the case for regional investment and infrastructure. The new west of Scotland partnership will incorporate SPT's powers. The issues arising from the White Paper such as area/boundaries, membership/voting and powers/delivery are being reviewed by WESTRANS and SPT with the aim of forming a strong west of Scotland Regional Transport Partnership.

The key issues coming out of this policy development for the Firth of Clyde are transport to and from Arran, the Cumbraes and Cowal, the integration of ferry and bus services, concessionary fares and transport access to healthcare, education and jobs.

Rodney Mortimer moved on to discuss the recently published Draft Joint Transport Strategy. This was developed by WESTRANS and SPT and sets out a 20 year integrated development and transport framework that will achieve sustainable economic growth and social justice in Western Scotland. It prioritises transport management and investment to support economic and social activity and planned development, and to enhance overall strategic accessibility. The Strategy incorporates Scottish Executive priorities and programs with direct relevance to Western Scotland. It provides a strategic context for Local Transport Strategies and complements SPT's public Transport Strategy. At present, responses to the Joint Transport Strategy consultation are being considered by a group of WESTRANS and SPT officers. The aim is to amend and publish the finalised Joint Transport Strategy by June 2005. However, the document will continue to evolve thereafter. The involvement of key stakeholders is, therefore, vital.

The vision of the Draft Joint Transport Strategy is "to invest in and maintain the best possible sustainable transport system for Western Scotland that supports the economy, promotes social inclusion and enhances the environment for the people who live, work, visit and enjoy the region".

The objectives of the Strategy can be split into improving external and internal connections. Externally, it aims to improve the economic competitiveness of the region by tackling capacity constraints, enhancing service reliability and addressing congestion on the transport networks that link the region to its national and international networks. Internally within the WESTRANS area, the Strategy aims to increase capacity on transport networks to support economic activity, freight and rural 'life-line' linkages and to improve integration.

The Strategy's objectives also includes economic regeneration by supporting and facilitating the regeneration of the Partnership area. It aims to promote accessibility and social inclusion by improving access to priority areas, job opportunities and community facilities through the development of accessible and affordable public transport. Finally, the Strategy aims to improve public transport accessibility, capacity and integration on key corridors by investment in services, interchanges and infrastructure and by capacity management. In order to address traffic growth, the Strategy aims to introduce demand management policies to reduce congestion and pollution and to support investment in public transport.

The fundamental components of the Strategy are to introduce enhanced rail connectivity between Glasgow City Centre and Glasgow International and Glasgow Prestwick Airports and between the northern and southern rail networks across Glasgow. There needs to be improved public transport accessibility by mass transit in the Glasgow conurbation as well as a removal of strategic capacity constraints on the M8 which constrain key economic locations such as Glasgow City Centre and the airports.

Rodney Mortimer highlighted that, given the range and complexity of the Joint Transport Strategy, its long term nature and the delivery mechanisms and agencies involved, it has not been possible to address all the strategic issues in the initial draft. He stressed therefore that the Joint Transport Strategy and the subsequent Regional Transport Strategy will be evolving documents.

The presentation concluded with a look at issues particular to the Firth of Clyde which require further development. These include the finalisation of a Rural Access Study and further work on a freight study in conjunction with the freight industry to develop a freight policy. A brief is being developed for a WESTRANS/SPT study to develop a Park and Ride strategy. WESTRANS is of the view that a water-based transport strategy needs to be developed in the Firth of Clyde area. Travel plan initiatives are being developed through a WESTRANS/SPT Travel Plan working group. Finally, Cycling Scotland is also working on developing a Cycling and Walking Strategy for the area.

For further information please see the WESTRANS website, www.westrans.gov.uk, or telephone them on 0141 331 4480.