Whether it be peer reviewing plans, creating tools to give greater understanding of places, or establishing forums to share best practice, delivering added value to our partners and the region is a central part of our work.
Our annual review 2022/23 includes more information on the support we provide authorities.
Regional evidence base
EEH continues to update and maintain a comprehensive evidence base on behalf of the region. The evidence base both informs EEH’s work and is also an invaluable resource for all our local authority partners.
See our Tools and guidance webpage for more information.
Enhancing our partners' capacities and capabilities
Centre of excellence: This will initially focus on maximising local transport authorities’ capability over the next two years in producing updated local transport plans, developing effective business cases and ensuring each authority develops and maintains a pipeline of future schemes. See our June 2023 report to board, section four.
Scheme development hub: Complementing the centre of excellence, we are planning to create a small team of experts upon which all partners can draw to support their development of detailed scheme proposals. See our June 2023 report to board, section five.
Tools and guidance: Developing tools and guidance to support local authority decision-making, including for example, a platform which shows the most appropriate locations for electric vehicle charging points, and data on the place-specific pathways to decarbonisation. See our complete list of available tools as of April 2023.
Skills: Developing and piloting interventions as part of addressing the transport planning skills challenge in the region.
Best practice: Continuing to identify, run and create forums and workshops aimed at sharing best practice between our local authorities, for example around innovation, active travel and buses.
Collaboration
Collaboration is key to everything EEH does:
Governance: Our Strategic Transport Leadership Board provides leadership and oversight of all aspects of England's Economic Heartland, while we also have regular meetings with local authority corporate directors and transport officers.
East West Main Line Partnership: EEH continues to provide the officer support for the East West Main Line Partnership, which includes local authority, local enterprise partnership and sub-national transport body representation.
Ely: In 2023 EEH took over the running of the Ely Taskforce, a grouping of local authorities, rail companies, subnational transport bodies and Network Rail which looks to progress the Ely Area Capacity Enhancements scheme.
Pan regional partnerships: As the sub-national transport body covering the entirety of the Oxford to Cambridge region, EEH has a seat on the Oxford-Cambridge Partnership Board.
Innovation: EEH's work includes developing a picture of the region’s connected and autonomous vehicle ecosystem; working with the private and public sectors and universities to encourage at scale trials and deployment in the region which improves connectivity; and hosting local authority-focused innovation working groups that facilitate regional collaborations.
Sub‑national transport bodies: England’s seven sub-national transport bodies continue to collaborate on a wide range of issues including electric vehicle charging, decarbonisation and buses. With Transport East and Transport for the South East we are creating of a ‘wider south east rail partnership’ which would provide input into Great British Railways decision-making.
Representing the region
EEH represents the region’s priorities on the national stage, providing thought leadership at events and conferences throughout the year.
Our continuous engagement with organisations such as DfT, National Highways, Network Rail, Great British Railways, and Active Travel England, alongside our responses to numerous consultations, ensures our partners’ requirements are well understood.
EEH also continues to perform a critical role in making the case for investment in major infrastructure in the region. On behalf of the East West Main Line Partnership, we produced the Building Better Connections brochure, launched in October 2022, which highlighted the business imperative for East West Rail. EEH has also produced a brochure on the importance of upgrading Ely junction in Cambridgeshire. Over the next year, EEH will produce economic narratives for the corridors covered by our connectivity studies.