Local Authorities across England are responding to Government’s request for more strategic thinking about transport investment with the aim of improving regional productivity and sustainable economic growth by joining up to become Sub-national Transport Bodies (STB) using legislation, within the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016.

Nationally three STBs have been formed and are working towards becoming statutory authorities.  They include: Transport for the North, Midlands Connect and England’s Economic Heartland.  In addition, a shadow STB has been created for South East England and work has begun on creating a STB for East Anglia.  The South West remains the only part of England not covered.

A recent consultation document on defining a new tier in the major road network for England (MRN), has highlighted Government’s intention to work with STBs to agree investment priorities.  Authorities in the South West have identified that a failure to put STBs in place would present a considerable risk in missing investment opportunities, and that such bodies will provide a unique opportunity for unprecedented access to Government and a key role in advising on use of the new national roads fund and other infrastructure investment processes.

The Authorities are now well progressed in setting up two STBs, Western Gateway and South West Peninsula, to cover the South West Region; and are on-track to establish shadow bodies as informal partnerships by September 2018 whilst longer-term discussions about statutory body status take place. The SW authorities wrote to DfT in June 2018 setting out the intention to set up two bodies and explaining the benefits and opportunities that this would create.

A draft terms of reference for the shadow South West Peninsula STB has been drafted and is attached as Appendix 1 to the submitted report.

Work is now underway to establish the detailed resourcing requirements and activity required to develop the evidence base and transport strategy which will be the key initial output from the Body to inform imminent discussions with Government about strategic transport investment needs.

Corridor alliances such as those formed around the A303 corridor and the Bristol South West Economic Link are a strong feature of joint working in the area and will remain a key mechanism for joint working between the sub-national bodies.

The draft terms of reference for both bodies refer to the opportunity for local authorities to become ‘associate members’ of bodies where they are not part of the core STB area but have important strategic connectivity issues and investment needs related to a neighbouring STB.  (For example, it would be beneficial for Somerset County Council  to become an associate member of the Western Gateway STB given the investment needs and connectivity issues on the road and rail corridors that would be shared priorities with the Western Gateway area (e.g. M5, A38, A303, rail links to Bristol etc).)  

Similarly the West of England Combined Authority has recently been created to facilitate strategic planning for the West of England area and there may be opportunities and benefits with forming a more formal association with that body.

The sub-national transport body model being followed is similar to the recently established ‘Transport for the South East’ which has an informal partnership in place utilising a £0.5m budget formed of contributions from its constituent authorities.  The budget has been used to set up governance arrangements, a programme management office and technical workstreams which include preparing an initial evidence base and ‘connectivity review’ which has now been published. The body has recently been awarded £1m by the DfT to develop its transport strategy and activity needed to become a statutory body by 2020.

The Elected Mayor considered the recommendations of the Policy Development and Decision Group (Joint Operations Team) at the meeting on 3 September 2018 and his decision is set out above.