England's Economic Heartland

Are you interested in joining the England's Economic Heartland team? We are recruiting for a Rail Technical Lead. This role is primarily focused on progressing EEHs rail and freight priorities and is responsible for ensuring the most strategic and often long distance transport movements in the EEH region are planned in a way that supports economic growth and net zero. https://lnkd.in/eQrsKQw3

Five fold return on investment anyone? Yesterday on behalf of Chambers East, I attended the East of England All Party Parliamentary Group to explore critical challenges around skills and infrastructure. In the run up to a critical spending review and Rt Hon Rachel Reeves looking to drive growth, key projects such as Ely and Haughley Junctions are vital for the whole UK economy. Fantastic work by England's Economic Heartland and Transport East outlines how this investment offers the opportunity to keep trade on track 👇full report in the comments below. Co-Chairs Andrew Pakes MP & Jess Asato MP led the session which began with a Keynote delivered by Minister for Skills, Baroness Jacqui Smith. Ensuring we develop a pipeline of talent for future growth is essential and the without a skilled workforce it will not happen. Local Skills Improvement Plans across the region are working hard to ensure education and the business community work in true partnership, supported by a broad range of key stakeholders. Chambers East is the united voice of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, Essex Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce. We're proud to represent every size and sector of business across the East of England, a region which contributes so positively to the UK economy 📈 #LSIP #Skills #ChamberNetwork #WhereBusinessBelongs #Growth

A privilege to be at a packed House of Lords for the launch of Heart of Swindon. Some really great initiatives taking place in the town by Swindon Borough Council and private sector. What came through (aside from Swindon’s amazing collection of art) is how connectivity has shaped and continues to shape the town’s fortunes. That connectivity could be even better with hourly services as part of a new Bristol-Bath-Swindon-Oxford service, which England's Economic Heartland and partners are advocating for.

EEH is progressing work to help accelerate the deployment of mobility hubs – areas in which a variety of transport modes and community assets are co-located for seamless interchange. To support engagement with the private and public sector, we facilitated a 'triage investment' workshop with KPMG to bring together both EEH authority partners, commercial mobility hub developers and private capital partners to explore opportunities to invest in hubs. Feedback on the workshop has been positive and has led to actions including: > Completion of an investment prospectus which will highlight opportunities for mobility hubs in specific locations > Updating EEH existing Mobility Hub Business Case Guidance, with a new section on private sector led funding and development of hubs. > A wider narrative on how the public and private sector can better collaborate by pooling resources, skills, knowledge, risks and capital to deliver hubs and promote long term sustainable growth in public transport

EEH are developing a new groundbreaking AI powered model, learn more about it and other EEH work inside our latest newsletter

England’s Economic Heartland (EEH) and City Science are developing a state-of-the-art strategic multimodal transport model using the power of artificial intelligence. Utilising Innovate UK funding and working in collaboration with the University of Exeter, our model is leveraging innovative techniques, including AI technologies, to automate and enhance model development processes. Chair of England’s Economic Heartland, Cllr Liz Leffman, said: “This ground-breaking new model for the region has been made possible by EEH’s strong collaboration with the private sector and universities. It will be a vital tool for EEH and its local and regional partners as we ensure transport is better integrated and investment in schemes such as East West Rail is maximised. By utilising artificial intelligence, we are developing something which can respond quickly to change in an uncertain world, while significantly reducing developmental and operational costs.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/esURuM3d

Smart junction technology can optimise traffic flow, prioritise sustainable travel modes, and improve safety through enhanced detection capabilities. During 2024 EEH conducted an initial strategic and high-level review of the benefits and opportunities of smart junction technology in the region, with a focus on priority corridors and existing signalised junctions. The study, available in interim form identifies initial urban areas that could most immediately benefit from smart junction technology, based on the number of signalised junctions, air quality and active mode collisions. EEH will continue to investigate opportunities to support and develop further work on data integration that enables better understanding and operation of the region’s transport networks. This includes the investigation of options to ‘model’ the likely benefits of cross boundary corridor traffic signal coordination. We will also continue to highlight this opportunity to DfT officials – particularly in light of the Intelligent Traffic Management Fund (ITMF) funding being withdrawn in late 2024. EEH also plans to update the study to include the additional connectivity study outputs, though the key outcomes and action points will likely remain consistent with the interim report. Read more here:

A central part of maximising East West Rail is the ‘digital corridor’. This short, informative video from our colleagues at England’s Connected Heartland, brilliantly explains what’s going on… all in less than a minute. EEH is proud to have secured the funding which enabled digital fibre to be installed between Bicester and Bletchley while East West Rail was being constructed - which this groundbreaking project builds upon. https://lnkd.in/eW6hFzHK

A proposal for hourly rail services between Oxford, Swindon and Bristol is being backed by Swindon Borough Council, MPs and regional transport bodies 🚂🕛 Subject to approval from Government, the new service could start as early as next year, building on GWR’s successful weekend trial that started in September 2024. Before that point, a direct service last ran in 2003. A new report setting out the case for the service says it would cut journey times between Swindon and Oxford to around half an hour. Better linking Oxford to Swindon and Bristol would fuel economic growth by better connecting high performing, knowledge-intensive sectors and universities. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eyVvxz_6 #BetterSwindon Business West England's Economic Heartland Great Western Railway (GWR) Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill Will Stone MP

A new hourly service between Oxford, Swindon, Bath and Bristol could be delivered as early as next year and requires zero capital investment from Government, according to a new report co-authored by East West Main Line Partnership, England's Economic Heartland and Western Gateway STB, and supported by Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR). Currently, there is no direct rail service connecting Oxford to Swindon, Bath and Bristol, with interchange required at Didcot Parkway. Journey times are not competitive with road journeys. The new hourly Oxford-Swindon-Chippenham-Bath Spa-Bristol Temple Meads service would build on Great Western Railway’s popular Saturday trial service introduced in 2024. It would deliver journeys between Bristol and Oxford in under an hour and a quarter, and between Swindon and Oxford in just over half an hour. Network Rail’s economic appraisal concluded there is “sufficient capacity on the Great Western Main Line and along the Oxford Corridor to introduce these services; that no new infrastructure spend is required; that the proposals have a positive benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of above four, representing “very high” value for money for a variety of demand scenarios (even including lower than forecast demand); and could be financially positive (ie, not requiring operational subsidy).” The new service would better link a corridor worth £75bn to the UK economy and with specialisms in knowledge-intensive sectors such as life sciences, physics, engineering, software-as-a-service and AI technology. It would also provide the west of England with access to East West Rail services from Oxford to Milton Keynes, which are due to start later this year. EEH, WG, and EWMLP all share the ultimate ambition for the East West Rail core scheme between Oxford and Cambridge to enable direct coast-to-coast services between Bristol and Ipswich and Norwich. A financial commitment from DfT in the ‘low single figure millions’ is required to make the service a reality: The ask is for commitment to fund this amount (with the expectation that the service is likely to generate more revenue than it will cost). Commitment from DfT to specify the service in a future contract would also allow it to be factored into timetable development and decisions on network capacity. The report below, ‘The case for reinstating Oxford-Swindon-Bath‑Bristol rail services’ has formed a central pillar of its authors’ submission into the forthcoming Spending Review. Cllr Katie Thornburrow, Chair of the East West Main Line Partnership, said: “This proposal provides a low-cost, quick-win opportunity to better link Oxford with Swindon, Bath and Bristol. It marks an exciting step towards realising a truly coast-to-coast East West Main Line from the west of England through to the east of England.” Swindon Borough Council Oxfordshire County Council Will Stone MP