The Grimsby-area has been used as an exemplar backdrop for how transport investment can help boost towns’ economies as part of the levelling-up agenda.
North East Lincolnshire Council was one of only four local authorities hand-picked to help the National Infrastructure Commission provide advice to the government.
No stranger to the subject, the borough was the pilot town deal location, and the waterfront regeneration, Humber Link Road and Cycle Super Highway connecting the major employment zones along the South Bank was brought into focus.
Read more: Grimsby to welcome National Clean Maritime Demonstration Hub
They were described as showing the potential for residents’ priorities to be reflected in local infrastructure strategies in a way that central government is not always able to do.
The NIC is calling for a shift in approach from ring-fenced pots of money - often competitively bid for - to further devolution with five-year budgets to deliver.
Official advisers launched the new report at Catch, the technical training centre at Stallingborough - a facility that was brought forward in a public-private partnership to respond to regional industry needs.
It recommends councils outside of London should be able to spend up to £6 billion annually on transport investment.
Bridget Rosewell CBE, NIC commissioner, said: “Levelling up cannot be done from Whitehall. Every English town faces a different set of challenges and opportunities and local leaders are best placed to develop strategies to address these.
“Our time in Grimsby, speaking to Rob Walsh [NELC chief executive] and his team, helped inform our thinking and shows what could be possible if councils were given greater resources to deliver a vision built on local priorities. North East Lincolnshire has been successful at attracting funding for various important projects, but we think that nationally less time should be spent on competing for money and more spent on delivering for people.
“Local councils need to be empowered to deliver transformational plans for the future and held accountable for doing so.”
The report was commissioned by government in March. Dozens of civic and business leaders were consulted.
It showed that when it comes to infrastructure improvements, almost four in ten town residents would prioritise improvements for motorists such as better road maintenance, while a third would most value better public transport connections to nearby cities. A similar number would prioritise enhancements for pedestrians and cyclists.
The report stresses that infrastructure investment alone cannot be expected to change economic fortunes, and that a range of areas of policy – notably education and skills – need to be co-ordinated in growth plans.
Government should also help ensure new networks and services reach the whole country, including support for accelerating the rollout of gigabit broadband and electric vehicle charging points in towns where it is needed.
Mr Walsh said: “I’m really pleased we’ve been able to talk with the NIC about things that are going on in Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire.
“There are huge possibilities for economic growth in many towns across the UK but this can only be done with the right infrastructure in place.”
The two major transport schemes form part of wider plans for a swathe of land south of the Humber, between the ports of Grimsby and Immingham. A green jet fuel refinery is proposed to be developed, with green technology manufacturing also attracted.
Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “We’ve been delivering plans for growth in and around our key towns, and have much more already in the pipeline through the Towns Fund and the Future High Streets Fund particularly.
“However, we already have significant growth in our industrial outlying areas, and welcome reports like this to strengthen our case for infrastructure investment.”
Full recommendations:
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Every local transport authority should have a long term infrastructure strategy for the towns in its area, supported by a pipeline of projects. These strategies should be developed locally and collaboratively as part of, or complementary to, distinctive 15 year place based plans for the economic development of towns. Infrastructure strategies and wider plans should draw on local strengths, presenting a distinctive vision for towns. To ensure accountability, infrastructure strategies and wider plans should set out clear, transparent outcomes and, at the end of each five year funding local authorities will need to carry out assessments of whether those outcomes have been achieved.
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The government should give local areas greater control over funding and decision making on local infrastructure investment. It should provide all county and unitary authorities, or combined authorities where they are in place, with devolved five year budgets for infrastructure, to match the arrangements in place for mayoral combined authorities. Funding should be allocated on a simple basis that reflects population and the size of the transport network being managed.
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In addition to devolved budgets for infrastructure, the government should provide targeted funding for key strategic priorities: where infrastructure outcomes are particularly poor, or where infrastructure could help towns seize economic opportunities. To access this targeted funding, places will have to demonstrate that they have a credible infrastructure strategy and wider placed based plan in place.
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The government should make available expert strategic advice and support for places that lack the capability and capacity to develop their own infrastructure strategies and wider place based plans. The government should determine which national organisation or body is best placed to provide that support and ensure it is adequately funded.
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The government should set out a clear plan, with milestones and funding, for delivery of gigabit broadband to the hardest to reach premises that will require public subsidy. In those towns where there are likely to be gaps in commercial rollout, and the government’s regional procurement programme is scheduled to start later, the government should work with local authorities and operators to identify opportunities for local solutions and facilitate voucher funded projects to accelerate coverage wherever possible.
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The government should develop a strategy by 2022 for encouraging the take up of new communications networks and services by small and medium enterprises.
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Ofcom and the government should consider real world user experience data, alongside prediction models, to improve the understanding of how people experience mobile connectivity in different places and identify any significant patterns that need to be addressed. As part of this, consideration should be given to whether Ofcom’s existing reporting on user experience can be extended to provide a more granular view of localised mobile user experience.
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The government should publish the electric vehicle charging infrastructure strategy, without further delay, followed by a roadmap for the rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in towns. Local infrastructure strategies should also include an active role for the local authority in planning and managing the rollout of on street electric vehicle charging.
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The government should support innovation in towns where trials would be too costly and risky for local authorities to run on their own, and where government involvement can accelerate progress substantially. This should be delivered via a local innovation fund and should include partnering with towns to run innovation pilots for new communication technologies, including 5G use cases and supporting experimentation and early rollout for innovations in on demand bus services. Government should ensure that lessons from trials are transparently and proactively shared.
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