A BARNSLEY MP has welcomed the publication this week of Transport for the North’s first strategic transport plan but says it must be backed up with the spending power to make it a reality.
The plan outlines how transport connections across the North of England need to be transformed by 2050 to drive growth and close the economic gap between the North and the rest of England.
It is aimed at rebalancing the UK’s economy through a 30-year programme of transport infrastructure investment, and could could deliver a £100bn economic boost and 850,000 additional jobs by 2050.
Barnsley Central MP Dan Jarvis said: “Transport for the North’s new strategic plan successfully highlights many of the key transport challenges we face in the North of England and where our priorities for investment should be.
“But the next step is to actually make that investment happen. The government must commit to reducing the transport spending inequality between north and south and give Transport for the North the necessary powers to direct that investment in the places where it is needed.
“This report also reinforces why we need an ambitious wider Yorkshire devolution settlement with meaningful powers to improve our transport infrastructure. It is only through a bold new settlement for the North that we will correct decades of under-investment in our transport system.”
Martin McKervey, a Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Board lead member for Transport, and a member of Transport for the North Partnership Board, said: “Sheffield City Region has worked closely with Transport for the North in the development of this important plan and we are very supportive of its aims and ambitions with regard to the strategic role of transport in enabling the realisation of the Northern Powerhouse.
“Transport for the North is working to make it easier for people and goods to travel across the region, improving access to jobs, supporting businesses and improving the movement of freight and goods across the North and to ports and airports.”
