Future scenarios and strategic choices - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 422

Economic geography analysis,
consideration of future pressures and
risks, and social, environmental,
demographic and scientific scenarios

Step 1: 20-30 year strategic outlook setting out objectives, current
and future pressures and opportunities, and strategic approach

Detailed geographical analysis of
pressures. Identification of policy
optrions for option generation. Strategic
analysis of VFM at different policy
solutions informs initial allocation of
funding

Challenge
and review

Collect evidence on
needs of users,
performance of
networks and
effectiveness of
policies

Step 2: 10-20 year strategies for strategic objectives

Allocation of funds to most
effective policies

Step 3: 5-10 year statement of commitments

Monitoring
and
evaluation

Delivery of economic, environmental
and social objectives

Figure 24.3 Eddington's suggested long-term decision-making cycle (source: Eddington Transport
Study Vol 4 Figure 1.3)

Box 24.3 Eddington's recommended objectives-led approach to planning

• Start by being clear on the policy goals and desired outcomes.
• Identify the key transport challenges drawing on detailed geographical analysis of
pressures, and the improvements in performance sought, focusing on the 'whole
journey' rather than particular stages or modes in a journey.
• Consider the full range of possible actions for meeting the challenges and
delivering the improvements, including different modal options, and policies for
making more efficient use of existing capacity as well as small and larger scale
capacity enhancements and packages of policy measures.
• Prioritise limited public resources on those policies which most cost-effectively
deliver Government's objectives, taking account of the full social, environmental
and economic costs and benefits ('listen to the numbers').

Source: DfT 2007s para 4.8

The first step in creating a new approach is to establish an appropriate multi-
modal planning cycle. The most convenient way of doing this is to build on the
five-year cycles already in place for the national railway. In practice this would mean
aligning planning work on other modes with the one already established for rail, i.e.
with the plan - in rail's case the High Level Output Specification - being published
in 2012 for the period 2014-19. Special arrangements would need to be made for