Chamber has one-to-one with Transport Secretary

Manchester Chamber of Commerce Transport Policy Manager, Emma Antrobus, met Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening MP for a one-to-one discussion about infrastructure projects affecting our region.

The Transport Secretary was visiting Manchester to examine the sites where funding has already been committed. Funding for the Ordsall Chord and the electrification rail project has already been approved and Ms Greening was keen to stress that improvements to the M60 and M62 were also progressing.

Whilst handing over the latest batch of Northern Hub pledge postcards, signed by Greater Manchester businesses, Emma stressed the importance of the rail project, which if funded in full, will dramatically improve connectivity across the North of England and support the growth of the economy.

Ms Greening was also pleased to hear that the Chamber was in full support of the High Speed Rail project and felt that it would transform the economy of the Manchester city region. Further announcements on this are expected in the Autumn.

Emma went on to discuss the recent government proposal to devolve decision-making on transport planning to local levels. The Chamber is keen to see streamlining of the planning process so that transport projects can be delivered in a similar time frame to private sector regeneration projects. Currently, the public sector delivery of transport projects takes much longer than similar scale private sector projects. Ms Greening agreed with the Chamber’s view and strongly believes that local decision-making is the best way to achieve this.

The findings of the latest Quarterly Economic Survey were also of interest to Ms Greening in relation to how connectivity is an essential part of the success of manufacturing in our region. Whilst recognising what an important asset Manchester Airport is to the region, it was noted that the airport’s available capacity could be utilised to tackle the short term issues of capacity in the South East. Justine also recognised the role that air passenger duty (APD) has in influencing aviation decisions.

The Chamber has invited Ms Greening to visit Manchester again to discuss transport issues with Chamber members and she is keen to do so at the earliest opportunity. Keep an eye on the Chamber’s communication channels for more details.

For further information on any of the projects above, contact Emma via emma.antrobus@gmchamber.co.uk  or visit www.gmchamber.co.uk/transport