Sir Rod Eddington chose the Commonwealth Club in London last Friday to deliver his much awaited report 'Transport's role in sustaining UK's Productivity and Competitiveness: The Case for Action'. He noted UK economy starts from a position of considerable strength. GDP growth is forecast to grow 2.6% this year ” higher than that in Germany, France and Italy. UK remains attractive for foreign investment ” averaging some 4.2% of GDP for the last 10 years and attracting the highest share of incoming investment in the world last year. Sir Rod would like to take transports out of the political arena. Ministers will be stripped of the power to approve major transport projects such as a third runway at Heathrow. Copies of the report can be downloaded from the Department for Transport at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/39A/41/eddington_execsum11206.pdf
He made five headline recommendations for government to act on: first, make the most of the existing transport infrastructure by tackling congestion and capacity issues; second, identify the strategic economic priorities ” today, in the UK these are congested and growing cities, key inter-urban and international gateways; third, introduce a sophisticated mix of pricing, better use and sustained transport infrastructure investment; fourth, policy and strategy must adapt to these economic priorities; and fifth, ensure the delivery system can support these policies.
"Economic growth drives transport demand. This creates both opportunities and challenges ” including its impact on the environment. Government and the private sector will need to show considerable foresight to deliver a transport system capable of supporting the continued success of the UK economy, able to continue to compete globally and meeting its environmental challenges."