Conservative-run East Sussex County Council is a strong supporter of landmark proposals which set out the transport investment needed across the region.
Transport for the South East (TfSE), chaired by East Sussex Conservative County Council Leader, Keith Glazier, has launched a 12-week public consultation on a £45 billion plan that sets out the steps to decarbonise the transport system across the region, level-up left-behind communities and facilitate sustainable economic growth in the South East.
Over the last five years TfSE has worked with a huge range of partners including Conservative-run East Sussex and other co-collaborating local authorities like Kent, West Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Berkshire, along with local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), National Highways, Network Rail and Transport for London as well as key stakeholders.
Together they have investigated the issues, challenges and opportunities identified in their transport strategy (2020) in more detail to identify a shortlist of integrated transport interventions that will make life better for people, for businesses and for the environment. This plan is the culmination of that work and has the support of local Conservative MPs.
It recognises a need for greater connectivity between our major economic hubs, the international gateways and their markets, a more resilient and reliable transport network that can better manage demand, incidents and extreme weather and the infrastructure that will support the decarbonisation of the transport system.
The plan proposes, with a total capital cost of £45 billion over 27 years – the transport interventions included in this plan alone will generate 21,000 new jobs; an additional £4.1billion growth in GVA a year by 2050; an additional 550,000 rail trips a day and 1.6 million bus, mass transit and ferry trips a day, and take more than four million car trips a day off the roads of the South East.
This growth will not come from transport alone, but transport will be a vital part of the jigsaw and an enabler of growth in other sectors. Realising this opportunity will require an integrated approach to investment and delivery. It will require working across institutional, sectoral, and spatial boundaries.
Our plan is ambitious, but it is achievable. It is an investment plan that for the first time looks at all modes and goes beyond boundaries to consider connectivity across the whole of the South East", says East Sussex County Council Leader, Keith Glazier.
“We are immensely proud of the TfSE partnership and of the work that has gone into developing this bold and ambitious plan. We believe it truly puts the South East and its communities at the centre, connecting people and business, improving access to education, healthcare, jobs and our green spaces", says the Conservative council Leader.
“Once finalised, this plan will be the blueprint for future investment in strategic transport infrastructure for the next thirty years. It will support the South East’s economy to more than double over the next thirty years. It provides the potential for new jobs, new homes and new opportunities – all supported by a modern, integrated transport network. Creating a prosperous, confident South East where people want to live, work, study, visit and do business, ” he adds.