Press Releases
09 June 2008
Reasons for the Bid
More new jobs have been created in Greater Manchester than in any comparable metropolitan area outside London over recent years as a result of the city region’s sustained economic boom. The TIF package will ensure this growth continues.Congestion is a problem, members of staff and goods stuck on congested roads cost businesses money. Research has revealed that as the roads become more congested over coming years, we could face increased difficulties in accessing the full range of skills that our modern economy demands and continued economic growth will be stifled.
Research* (see editors’ notes) has indicated that the business community could save up to £20 million of lost time every year by 2016 if the TIF package is adopted. They could also see the size of the available labour force within a realistic one hour commute increase significantly.
Research has also revealed if nothing is done traffic levels across Greater Manchester will increase over the next 10 years while traffic speed will drop and delay time will rise.
Lord Peter Smith, Leader of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) who backed the bid, said: “The economic case for these plans is clearly proven, if we take no action, bury our heads in the sand and pretend congestion will not get worse then we are risking our Greater Manchester’s future prosperity and jobs.
“The TIF package will tackle congestion and as a result considerably reduce business costs and increase the number of potential employees within a one hour journey of our key business districts.
“Doing nothing is not an option, Greater Manchester has enjoyed sustained growth over the past decade and if we wish to see that growth continue then we must take action now.”
More than 45,000 jobs have been created across Greater Manchester over the last five years. If nothing is done to tackle congestion as many as one in seven future jobs could be at risk.
Many of these new jobs are predicted to be delivered from the financial and business services sector. This means that Greater Manchester must secure access to employees with a wide range of skill sets and that is why low levels of congestion and high quality public transport which appeals to modern commuters is essential.
Employers face a situation where the availability of labour could drop by as much as 22% across Greater Manchester by 2021 due to congestion - and that means employers will see the availability of suitable staff decreasing.
The TIF package will address this issue and will reduce the additional transport costs associated with growth by around 60% – taking these costs back to 1990’s levels when Greater Manchester’s economy was really taking off, giving local businesses a competitive advantage.
But while investment is crucial to improving the situation, it will not work on its own, which is why a limited peak time congestion charge has also been proposed. Research has revealed that even if the funding were available (which it is not) an investment-only strategy will only buy time.
The TIF package is designed to incentivize change in how people travel, by providing choice. Public transport investment followed by congestion charging is the only mechanism for achieving this in Greater Manchester, otherwise we will not secure maximum efficiency and productivity for our road space.
In addition, to achieve this change in people’s travel behaviour, improvements in the network of bus services is essential and the new Local Transport Bill currently going through Parliament will support our working with local bus operators to help achieve this.
Sir Richard Leese, Deputy Leader of AGMA, said: “A huge amount of work has gone into ensuring this bid will benefit the economy of Greater Manchester and the facts speak for themselves.
“We need to ensure that people have access to jobs, businesses have access to skills and we have a transport system which maximises efficiency.
“The TIF package will deliver more potential members of staff to employers by increasing connectivity and provide more choice to employees.
“Access to labour and skills is a key element of our future growth plan and is also a vital factor in enabling existing businesses to grow and attracting new ones to the Manchester. Congestion reduces the size and availability of labour markets to employers and that means additional business costs.”
The TIF package agreement with the DfT will be formally considered by AGMA and GMPTA at the end of June. A full three month consultation with members of the public and businesses will then be undertaken to inform a decision about the plans which will be taken in the autumn.
This consultation will give everybody a chance to study the details of the TIF package including the public transport improvements on offer, how the congestion charge will work and provide businesses and members of the public with an opportunity to have their say.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
• *All the economic projections of growth potential included within this document have been prepared by a consortium led by Oxford Economic Forecasting.
• These projections take into account successful future policy initiatives but are transport unconstrained.
• The growth prospects specifically assume:
o Greater Manchester benefits from substantial new investment in Metrolink
o Transport conditions for other modes do not worsen the Greater Manchester competitive position.
• Today’s announcement confirms up to £3 billion of funding will be available for transport improvements in Greater Manchester. This comprises Government grants of £1.5 billion, £1.2 billion of local funding supported by future revenue from a limited peak time only congestion charge and £0.1 billion of third party contributions. The DFT has also confirmed that it will fund extra railway rolling stock for the city-region supporting in excess of 7,000 extra passengers at peak times.
• The Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) is a central Government fund that supports “innovative solutions to congestion problems, involving demand management measures”. Local Authorities across England bid for this fund.
• There is no other source of central or local Government funding which would provide the financial support for the dramatic improvement in transport that Greater Manchester needs to continue its recent growth into the coming decades.
For further information please visit www.gmfuturetransport.com
For further information contact:
Sara Tomkins
T: 0161 817 4200
M: 07950 215 779
E: sara.tomkins@connectpoint.co.uk
Dan McMullan
T: 0161 817 4200
M: 07799 667 416
E: dan.mcmullan@connectpoint.co.uk
Rob Allen
T: 0161 817 4200
M: 07946 526 295
E: rob.allen@connectpoint.co.uk
