In this podcast we try to understand a bit more about the challenge of fixing transport in the North - and how Sub-National Transport Bodies like Transport for the North can help to drive the vital investment required.

And yes - I renamed this podcast because feedback suggested the original title "Understanding the role of Sub-National Transport Bodies" was just a little too obscure and not "grabbing" enough!
 
So we start by asking what exactly are Sub-National Transport Bodies (STBs) – what are they, what do they do and why do we need them.

STBs  were created by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act in 2016, and there are now seven Sub National Transport Bodies covering different regions of the UK. The intension is to provide strategic transport policy leadership at a larger scale than is possible by the existing local transport authorities or local authorities individually.

Of the seven currently in existence, only one - Transport for the North - has been given statutory powers – and as such, from 2018 TfN has been a statutory partner to the Department for Transport, National Highways, and Network Rail to ensure that the North's pan-Northern strategic transport priorities are developed and delivered. 

The rest, bodies such as Transport for the South East, Transport for the East, England’s Economic Heartland, Western Gateway and Peninsular Transport and Midlands Connect operate in shadow form, advising and cajoling but without formal powers to act.

That said, they do hold influence and, by bringing together local authorities, businesses, communities and asset owners, they should able to make significant cross border difference in terms of where sone vast sums of devolved and centralised public cash is focussed. 

But do they in reality? Well to discuss this it is my pleasure to welcome Martin Tugwell to the Infrastructure Podcast. Martin is chief executive of Transport for the North and the former leader of England Economic Heartland so probably knows more about STBs than anyone in the UK!

STB Conference - 5th June
Transport for the North website
TfN strategic transport plan

In this podcast  we talk about transforming UK transport by “adopting an integrated systems approach”.

So what does that mean in practice? Well despite multiple local and national investment programmes over decades, the UK still seems to lack transport infrastructure that is capable of providing reliable and predictable journey times.

We certainly have a multitude of available modes – cars, trains, aircraft, buses, trams, taxis, bikes etc. But we consistently seem to lack the ability to join these up to create seemly, efficient, cost effective door to door journeys. 

As a result the car dominates our transport – providing a personalised service for those that can afford it but at a growing social and environmental cost to us all. 

It is my pleasure therefore, to welcome Sue Kershaw, to the Infrastructure Podcast today to discuss the concept of a new integrated system approach to transport. 

Sue is managing director for transportation at contractor Costain and has spent a career working to create better transport systems. More importantly, she recently, as a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and President of the Association for Project Management, she has been championing the concept of an integrated systems approach to transport strategy.

Resources
A Systems Approach to Infrastructure Delivery
Institution of Civil Engineers
Association for Project Management
Crossrail Learning Legacy

As the dust settles on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’ latest budget statement in March, many were perhaps slightly disappointed that it didn’t make more reference to - or provide more direct support for - investment in UK infrastructure 

Not least after his announcement of a raft of delays to the investment plans for a number for key projects including HS2 and the Lower Thames Crossing.

OK there was commitment to new nuclear and to investment in a new era of carbon capture and storage. But fundamentally, questions have been raised over just how committed the current government is to delivering the current £600bn pipeline.  

Regardless of government’s repeated reassurance that investment delays are simply technical measures required to balance ethe books, is the infrastructure sector guilty of failing to reinforce the absolute priority of maintaining investment momentum and highlighting the simple truth that the longer projects take the more they ultimately cost?

In short, in this political climate, does the infrastructure sector have to step up a gear.

To answer this question and discuss how we can continue to keep infrastructure at the heart of UK economic recovery it is my pleasure to welcome Marie Claude Hemming, Director of Operations at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association to the Infrastructure Podcast as someone who has spent decades making the case for investment.

Resources
CECA website
CECA Sector groups
Infrastructure Future Group
NIC Infrastructure Progress Review 2023
HM Government Spring Budget 2023
IPA Transforming Infrastructure Performance – Roadmap to 2030 

In this podcast we talk about the challenge of “designing infrastructure for people” – clearly a vital outcome from investment but too often overlooked.

In particular, we are going focus on the architectural challenge of the Crossrail project, a multibillion pound scheme which after decades of planning and construction has given London the new Elizabeth Line beneath the capital - in fact providing 100km service linking Heathrow Airport and Reading in the west across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

Everyone will be familiar with the criticisms of the project and the fact that it was delivered several years late and considerably over budget when it opened in May last year.  A lot of lessons will of course be learned.

But crucially, anyone that has travelled on the new Elizabeth Line will also appreciate – and in most cases eulogise about – the step change that the new service provides in terms of scale, comfort and sheer user delight from a public transport facility.

In short, much of that delight is down to good design – of the trains but more importantly of the stations which are, without exception, designed with the users in mind. In fact, the new underground station beneath the heart of London have been described as modern cathedrals to public transport – expensive and complex to deliver certainly, but now key hubs and drivers for a wholesale uplift in the public realm for decades to come.

Behind this success is good design and a clear architectural vision for public need. It is my pleasure therefore, to welcome Harbinder Birdi to the Infrastructure Podcast today, who, as a partner at architectural practice Hawkins Brown, was the architect that, over many years and for many masters, drove and clung onto that vision for Crossrail.

Resources
Crossrail Learning Legacy
Birdi and Partners architects
Defining and developing the Design Champion role

The infrastructure profession has a massive role to play in helping the UK to tackle climate change and ensure that the nation stays on track to meeting its net zero emissions targets by 2050.

Transforming the design and operation of our public and private transport system is one of the most important areas to tackle; to decarbonise existing modes but also to accelerate the development and introduction of new and evolving transport modes - enabling society to move towards new, cleaner, healthier more efficient ways to travel.

This podcast discussed the challenge of decarbonising transport with Rachel Skinner, executive director for ESG & Government Relations at consultant WSP and a very well known advocate for embracing low carbon futures – something that she championed during her year as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2020/21. 

Rachel is also leading the new Interchange event which is being held in Birmingham on 18th and 19th April. As chair of the advisory panel,  she is helping the supply chain to accelerate towards sustainable and resilient transport solutions.

Resources
ICE Presidential Address 2020
PAS 2080: Carbon management in buildings and infrastructure guidance
Interchange - the hub for mobility infrastructure
ICE Fellowship routes

In this podcast we talk about the challenge of “creating infrastructure fit for the future”. 

While the UK government continues to warn of “significant headwinds” holding back the economy, and despite recent delays to the investment plans for a number for key projects including HS2 and the Lower Thames Crossing, it remains clear that investment in new infrastructure is still a fundamental par to the so-called “plan for growth”. 

But critically, it is now clear that investment in infrastructure has to deliver more than just economic benefits; to be fit for the future and investable for the public and private sector, today’s projects must also deliver social benefits in the form of reduced carbon emissions, greater social inclusion and equity and of course employment and community cohesion.

Beth West is chief executive of the new East West Rail project between Oxford and Cambridge which combines a number of inter-related elements designed to maximise the use of existing infrastructure, reinstate disused corridors and introducing new assets to create new links.

As the leader of a project setting out to create a transport system fit for the future she is ideally placed to discuss the challenge of modern delivery and to give us an update on how the project is getting on.

Resources:
The East West Rail website

EWR project overview

The case for East West Rail, Western Section Phase 2

In this podcast we talk about the challenge of “recruiting and retaining construction’s future talent” – without question one of the biggest issues holding back growth in the sector.

In fact, according to a recent report by the Construction Industry Training Board, it is estimated that for the sector to maintain its required output, it needs to recruit over 45,000 new people every year for the next five years. 

And this is set against the backdrop of a record number of job vacancies in construction, thought to be as high as 44,000 and growing. 

It’s a massive challenge and so who better to discuss this with than, Suzannah Nichol, chief executive of Build UK the body representing the UK contractors who are trying to fill these gaps.

Resources
Build UK website
CITB Construction Skills Network report
Build UK Roadmap to Recovery
Levy In – Skills Out proposal
Open doors 

Successive UK governments have continued to highlight investment in both building new infrastructure and maintaining existing networks as a key to driving growth into the economy and underpinning the nation’s prosperity. 

Yet given the current perilous state of the UK’s finances, the impact of inflation, energy prices and pressure from Russia’s war in Ukraine, there is a clear need to priorities that investment, focusing on the investments that create impact and deprioritising those that don’t.

It’s a huge challenge and in many ways a political quagmire. So who better to discuss this with than, Sir John Armitt, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission and the man in the hot seat when it comes to influencing these priorities.

Resources
The National Infrastructure Commission website
2nd National Infrastructure assessment background
NIA 2 Baseline report 2021
First National Infrastructure Assessment 2018

In this podcast we talk about the challenge of “delivery beyond time and budget and specifically the role of the trusted adviser”. 

Not so long ago, when it came to delivery, project managers were wedded to the classic iron triangle of cost, time, and scope - from which you could achieve one, or two but not all three.

Today’s modern clients want more. Meeting or beating the cost budget and time schedule is a given – their new demand, and the challenge for those working for them, is for greater economic and social return from their investment.

To understand and discuss this issue and how it might be achieved, my guest today is Patricia Moore, Managing Director UK at global consultancy Turner & Townsend. Given that she runs a team of over 4000 expert professionals who work with clients to improve project delivery across and range of markets, she will be well placed to offer us a viewpoint.

Resources
Turner & Townsend website

Guest: Alison Watson, founder and chief executive, Class of your own

In this  podcast we talk about the need for “new talents to meet new infrastructure challenges”. Without doubt the entire sector is suffering from not only a fundamental shortage of skills needed to tackle today’s challenges but also a major lack of the new skills needed for the future.

To discuss this issue, my guest is Alison Watson, chief executive of Class of your Own, the social business that she founded in 2009 to provide the Design Engineer Construct! Curriculum, a design based, Ofqual accredited study programme supporting STEM, creativity and applied learning across the curriculum.

With support from industry this programme works with schools to integrate the technical areas of sustainability, architecture, engineering and construction into a fun “learn anytime, anywhere” approach.