Let's keep our economy on the move

It’s good to see the Government is talking a lot about two of the issues that have a massive impact on economic growth – housing and transport. I’ll come back to housing another time, but today I want to reflect on transport.

Being able to get around is fundamental for a successful society, whether that’s going to work, moving goods, taking the children to school, going shopping or having a night out.

I’ve lost count of the number of discussions we’ve had in Bath over the years trying to work out how things could be improved. One of the topics regularly raised was to extend the hours the Park and Rides operated, so it was great to see the Council start a trial of that recently. Pity we’re no closer to a Park and Ride to the east of the city, but I suspect that ship has sailed.

More companies are operating offices in both Bath and Bristol, so improving public transport links between the two will be ever more necessary. That will fall into the in-tray of the West of England Mayor, Helen Godwin, who has said she will produce a new transport plan before the end of the year. I know many people will groan and say “Not another one – we’ve heard it all before !” but I remain cautiously optimistic by what she said.

For example, she has acknowledged there have been many strategies over the past years and they would be used to learn from, instead of starting with a blank piece of paper. In addition, she has pledged to work effectively with all the participating local authorities in a more constructive way than may have sometimes been the case at times in the past. That will be vital if we are not going to run into the sort of road blocks that have prevented progress before.

The difficult part of the conversation with Council leaders will be what schemes should be prioritised because however much resource is forthcoming, it won’t be enough to do everything. Decisions will have to be taken about how the greatest economic benefit can be generated for the sub-region so it’s inevitable there will be calls for big ticket items in the highest growth areas.

There is a risk for Bath and North East Somerset of the district being outgunned by the big battalions in Bristol and South Gloucester, so it will be important that the business community gets behind our Council leadership as they make the case for investment which will improve things for both our companies and the community as a whole.