TGSE Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) – Essex

The purpose of this project is to improve and integrate existing passenger transport networks, supporting infrastructure and systems to create opportunities for seamless sustainable travel across South Essex, including the unitary areas of Southend and Thurrock. This project will unlock additional transport capacity, which would otherwise prevent economic growth and development. This will be an initiative based on the Government’s ‘Door to Door’ strategy and supplemented / enhanced by a South Essex (SE) wide Local Sustainable Transport Fund approach.

Sustainable growth in the regeneration area of South Essex

This project is a major catalyst to deliver sustainable growth in the regeneration area of South Essex. It draws together all of the necessary components of an integrated door to door public transport network – information, interchange and improved services.

Growth, congestion and pollution

The SE area comprises growth locations that strongly relate to each other economically. There are clear existing commuting patterns between them, mainly by car, and this is likely to be accentuated by the forecast levels of economic growth across the area. This is likely to result in increased car use, congestion on key inter-urban routes and increased carbon dioxide emissions. This pattern is coupled with leisure trips across the area, generated by sub-regional attractions, such as the Lakeside Shopping Centre, the retail park in Thurrock and the seafront in Southend-on-Sea. Transports networks and spare capacity There is an extensive and varied public transport network in the SE area:

• 27 rail stations
• two train franchises
• a number of longer distance inter-urban bus services

Evidence shows that non-London related peak services and most off-peak services have considerable spare capacity. Furthermore, a number of highway pinch-points cause delays to buses and hinder the ability to ensure good punctuality. There is a clear opportunity to promote better connectivity across the area, through improved utilisation of public transport infrastructure and services, enabling people to gain access to employment, education and leisure opportunities using public transport. As a consequence, this scheme will improve connections with rail, in order to make the public transport network more efficient.

Improving the strategic public transport

This proposal seeks to improve the strategic public transport network dramatically across the SE area by fully integrating it and providing an efficient and recognised network. This will act as a vital catalyst to help achieve sustainable regeneration and growth, focusing on the provision of a comprehensive, accessible, connected and efficient public transport network. The project focuses on utilising the existing train network and the existing best performing, frequent express bus services that combine to make a complete public transport network, which, through enhanced connections with rail, will connect the sub-region, especially the growth areas of Basildon, Southend and Thurrock. The scheme will:

• Focus on improvements to the existing passenger transport network by providing the latest AVL/RTPI information facilities (Automatic Vehicle Location, Real Time Passenger Information)
• Improve bus stop hardware at key locations along major routes within the SE area
• Introduce improvements on key routes which cross boundaries, in and out, of SE
• Provide improved and new cycle links to facilitate a more continuous public transport chain by removing gaps in the cycling network
• Have a specific focus on passenger infrastructure improvements at two major rail stations – Rayleigh and Rochford

These improvements will be concentrated along key corridors of strategic movement, such as access to Basildon Hospital, towards London Southend Airport (LSA), the expanding business parks around LSA, Lakeside and Grays. See scheme draft below

£579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock

In total the SELEP Growth Deal with Government has brought £579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock. Over the lifetime of the Growth Deal (2015-2021) we aim to deliver 78,000 jobs and 29,000 homes across the SELEP area, with the Deal set to attract a further £960m of investment into the South East over the six year period.

Find out more here