MRCMH has worked with a number of authorities and agencies to develop and advance area wide strategies for growth. We have developed a prioritisation methodology that is top-down, policy-based and objective-led and provides a broad view on what interventions contribute to specific policy objectives, including economic, social, environmental and spatial concerns. Our approach involves developing a ‘strategic proposition’ that is a synthesis of policy objectives and sub-objectives for the geography being considered.
East of England Regional Funding Advice for Transport
In partnership with JMP Consultants, MRC McLean Hazel was commissioned to carry out a prioritisation for the East of England region to form the basis of their Regional Funding Advice to the Department for Transport (DfT). The prioritisation methodology adopted for this project involved the development of two separate assessment frameworks; a primary Policy Framework and a secondary Deliverability Framework.
The Policy Framework was developed using the aims and objectives of the policies contained within the Regional Spatial Strategy and the Regional Economic Strategy. This framework was then used to create a set of transport/connectivity criteria against which all 101 interventions put forward for prioritisation were scored.
The Deliverability Framework was developed to provide a structure for assessing the various elements of risk and provided consistency of assessment across a range of complex transport interventions of varying sizes, types and stages of development. The output of this prioritisation exercise was an affordable and deliverable transport investment strategy in the form of a costed programme of transport interventions for submission to Government as part of the East of England’s Regional Funding Advice.
Milton Keynes and South Midlands
A primary and a secondary prioritisation framework were developed to support the Milton Keynes and South Midlands (MKSM) sub regional strategy. Firstly MRCMH established a prioritised, short list of MKSM interventions that the emerging MKSM Strategic Transport Board could support and on which they could focus lobbying for funding. The second element was to develop a spatial investment strategy that set out what interventions are needed, where and by when.
Northampton County Council
MRC McLean Hazel was appointed by Northamptonshire County Council to develop a transport prioritisation framework and provide ongoing strategic transport policy and planning advice.
We were responsible for the development of a methodology and approach that would enable Northamptonshire County Council to create an evidence-based, affordable and justifiable transport investment package that not only dealt with ongoing traffic and transport problems but would enable the delivery of nearly 100,000 new homes required as part of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area.
We developed a top-down, policy-led framework which related a broad range and number of social, environmental and economic objectives through the identification of strategic connectivity requirements and needs for specific types of transport investment.
Our range of advice to this client has centred on strategic transport policy and developing packages for the delivery of the prioritised transport interventions as well as aiding with more innovative solutions such as smartcards, demand management and Bus Rapid Transit.
West Northamptonshire Development Corporation were involved in this work for Northampton County Council and MRCMH was subsequently commissioned to carry-out a similar prioritisation approach to their infrastructure requirements.
TfL
MRCMH was commissioned to provide strategic advice on growth and connectivity models for London post the current 2015 London Plan. This led on to a prioritisation project where we built a Strategic Prioritisation Framework enabling Transport for London to assess their project list against London’s economic, environmental and social objectives.
