Getting from A to B

Mike Smith explains why better, greener transport is picking up speed at Yorkshire Forward.

Ask anyone waiting for a bus or a train that doesn’t arrive on time, or a transport company that wants to move its goods, and they’ll tell you just how important transport is. Time and again, the inadequacy of the transport infrastructure is raised as an issue by businesses in Yorkshire.

That’s why Yorkshire Forward is investing £10 million a year in developing regional transport. We’re making it one of the key issues of the Northern Way, a collaboration between the three northern regional development agencies (RDA) to reduce the £30 billion economic gap between the north and the south.

But the trick for us is to find a balance between moving goods and people while having minimal impact on the environment. It’s no secret that transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and Yorkshire Forward has committed to reducing emissions by 20% by 2010. Which is where the balancing act comes into play.

Roads to rails

The region needs a varied portfolio of transport. Road congestion is one issue, and government funding to widen the stretch of the M62 motorway between Huddersfield and Leeds is welcome news for drivers who often get stuck in the bottleneck. But, as Derrick Potter, chief executive of a regional distribution company based in Yorkshire says, “the answer can’t be all the time that we double the size of the M62. It requires entrepreneurial determination to seek out new opportunities.” Freight on trains and better use of the water can be a bigger part of the mix. The Ripon-based Potter Group deals with international road and rail freight coming via the Humber and the southern ports, and is keen to see much more going by train. Potter hopes to see businesses in the Humber Trade Zone, the area around the port earmarked for regeneration, properly connected by sustainable transport.

“The answer can’t be all the time that we double the size of the M62. It requires entrepreneurial determination to seek out new opportunities.”

Eighty-one million tonnes of freight - as well as one million passengers - already come through the three Humber ports a year. It’s one of the largest port complexes in the country, but isn’t yet maximised as a regional economic driver because of inadequate road and rail links. We are currently talking to the port and rail authorities about how best to get more companies to ship freight to the northern ports rather than use road freight up from the south.

In 2001, DIY giant B&Q made the decision to bring all of its directly sourced products from overseas through Rotterdam, into Immingham. This single point of entry approach saves 3.7 million road miles a year, and brings cargo 150 miles closer to its main import distribution centres at Doncaster and Scunthorpe. As Matthew Kennerley, port director for Associated British Ports at Hull and Goole said, “We are in an ideal location for access to the northeast, northwest and the midlands, and offer a perfect location for sea cargo that feeds the extensive industry base in these areas. But much of this cargo currently enters the UK via the busy ports in the south and adds to the road congestion issues on the UK road network. It is absolutely vital for the region to upgrade the road and rail infrastructure connecting the Humber ports.”

All change

As well as looking at the bigger picture, we’re pinpointing areas where projects can have a significant local impact. We helped design and fund a bus service with a difference - to encourage tourism and leisure in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The route along the coastline links holiday resorts and campsites, and the buses have trailers especially for bikes, meaning people can cycle one way and bus the other.

A new transport interchange that brings together all of Barnsley’s rail and bus services in one place is at the heart of the town’s renaissance programme. Tourists and commuters can now get accurate information on buses, trains and hotels at the staffed complex, and there should be far less time spent standing in a shelter for a bus that never comes…

Business buy-in

Businesses need to play their part in helping ease congestion and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. One way is to source goods and services through local or regional supply chains, a practice which is catching on in the fresh food industry. As more people want to know the provenance of what they are eating, supermarkets are keen to stock more regional food. The Yorkshire Forward-funded Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber, set up to support the region’s food producers, works closely with Asda and Waitrose to help them increase their range of locally grown products.

It’s not just food that can be locally sourced, but energy supplies too. Willow coppice grown within a 50-mile radius of Drax power station is currently being trialled as a fuel at the plant. Yorkshire and Humber is the largest producer of willow coppice in the UK, and we are working with biomass growers to link up local growers with power companies.

Power to the people

Planning transport is also about changing behaviour - and getting people to change the way they do things is never easy. One way we’re working on that is by empowering people. We are intending to work with the Car Plus Trust, a not-for-profit organisation, to develop a car club network across the region.

Another is by leading by example at Yorkshire Forward. We were the first RDA to achieve EMAS accreditation (through the European Eco Management and Audit Scheme), and were placed tenth in the region in the latest Business in the Community Environment Index. We’ve got this far in part thanks to our focus on our own transport choices. We’re encouraging our employees to use public transport, and to use video conferencing as an alternative to travelling to meetings - we’ve saved 14 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the first year. Yorkshire Forward has no company cars, but we do a low-emission diesel fuelled pool cars, and we hope to update the leased vehicles as more efficient and environmentally friendly fuels become available.

Our task over the coming months is to encourage our partners and businesses in the region to analyse their own environmental impact at all levels…

Wheels to work

The Wheels to Work project helps unemployed 16-25-year-olds in rural areas across the region to connect to employment or study. The Yorkshire Forward-funded project provides people who live in areas where there is little or no public transport with a moped, insurance, compulsory basic training and a helmet on a short-term lease. Once in employment or enrolled on a course, the ‘bikers’ have six months to organise an independent means of transport. It has proved a good kick-start for more than 70 people so far, 80% of whom have stayed in work. Daniel Greensill, from Selby in rural North Yorkshire, was able to get employment on an out-of-town business park not serviced by public transport, thanks to the Wheels to Work project. “This is a brilliant scheme - it has helped me to get on the working ladder.” 

Mike Smith is head of sustainable development at regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

20 September 2005

Mike Smith