Homes England has agreed a £3.4million funding deal with Havant Borough Council. The funding has been awarded through the Government’s £450 million Local Authority Accelerated Construction Programme and will enable development of new homes on the Council’s surface car parks at the Civic Campus.

The Council plans to use the funding to accelerate the delivery of, 121 apartments prioritising the use of modern methods of construction. Ideally located in Havant Town Centre, the one hectare surface level public car park adjoins the council offices and is close to Havant railway station.

Havant Council has aspirations to regenerate Havant Town Centre and the acceleration of new housing at the Civic Campus follows the development of Havant Plaza, which includes public sector facilities, leisure, homes for key workers and commercial office space.

The existing parking would be relocated through the construction of multi-storey parking on neighbouring surface car parks.

Stephen Kinsella, Executive Director for Land at Homes England, said:

“The funding will enable Havant Borough Council to accelerate their regeneration plans and deliver much needed homes. The plans aim to prioritise the use of off-site manufacturing deliver high quality, precision engineered and highly energy efficient homes on this town centre site.”

Councillor Tim Pike, Deputy Leader of Havant Borough Council and Cabinet Lead for Finance and Regeneration said:

“We are delighted to receive this funding from Homes England that will kick start Havant Borough Council’s regeneration plans.”

“The civic campus site has great potential. Its transformation will be a game-changer for our borough delivering new homes, construction jobs and economic growth. I believe it is the start of a regeneration programme that will deliver future prosperity right across our borough.”

ENDS

For more information contact Kate Hall, Communications Officer at Homes England on 0115 852 6900 or email kate.hall@homesengland.gov.uk

Announces the launch of the Future of mobility urban strategy.

The UK is in the early stages of a transport revolution. For much of the past half century, many of the improvements to transport have been gradual and incremental, focused on increasing the capacity of existing infrastructure to meet growing demand. Yet today important new technologies are emerging that will transform transport and travel. Zero tailpipe emission cars are replacing those powered by fossil fuels.

Self-driving vehicles have the potential to allow people with mobility issues to enjoy far greater freedom to travel. And advances in data production and use are already improving the way that transport services are devised, planned and delivered.

In they are properly managed, the transport technologies of the future will not just make journeys faster. They will also make them safer, easier, more comfortable and more affordable. They will make our towns and cities quieter and less polluted. And they will give us the option to see mobility as a service, integrated and accessible to all.

But this transformation potentially offers huge industrial opportunities as well, including new high quality jobs, new investment and increased national productivity.

The government has put the Future of Mobility at the heart of its Industrial Strategy in an effort to take full advantage of these extraordinary opportunities. With a long history of transport innovation, a world-class research base and many established technology leaders, the UK is well placed to harness its domestic expertise and to profit from a growing market for cleaner, safer and more efficient transport.

Such fundamental change in transport within a relatively short period of time, and across so many different technologies, is unprecedented. The sector is at a point of inflection. The window of opportunity is currently open; but for how much longer it will be so, no one can say. Today the government is publishing its Future of mobility: urban strategy.

This sets out its approach to working with innovators, companies, local authorities and other stakeholders in order to harness the developing benefits of new urban mobility technologies.

In the Future of mobility: urban strategy, the government has:

• outlined the benefits it wants mobility innovation to deliver, and the principles by which to achieve them
• launched an ambitious regulatory review
• established a wide programme of work to meet the Grand Challenge

Alongside this document it has:

As a country, our approach to these technologies will need to adapt over the coming decades. The government will need to gather and respond to evidence of the impacts of new mobility technologies and services as they emerge. It will also need to set out its thinking on the future of rural mobility in due course, to explore how the benefits of transport innovation can be enjoyed by everyone, wherever they live.

We have an extraordinary opportunity here – to put this country at the heart of the next mobility revolution, and deliver a cleaner, greener, more productive and more inclusive country for future generations.

I have laid a copy of the Future of mobility: urban strategy in the libraries of both Houses.

The biggest review into transport in a generation will pave the way for transforming the way people and goods move around our cities, the government has announced today (19 March 2019) in its Future of mobility: urban strategy.

The review will explore regulations around new types of vehicles including e-scooters and e-cargo bike trailers, how sharing data can improve services by reducing congestion, and how journey planning and payment can be made more simple. This wide-ranging review will also explore modernising laws from the 1800s that are providing a barrier to innovation.

Alongside this, the government is launching a competition for up to 4 new ‘future mobility zones’, backed by £90 million, to test ideas to improve journeys for people across the country. With 80% of people in the UK now using smartphones, ideas will include smoother payment systems, better, more up-to-date travel information and the use of innovative forms of transport, making travel in towns and cities more convenient, more reliable and cheaper.

Future of Mobility Minister, Jesse Norman, said:

We are at a potentially pivotal moment for the future of transport, with revolutionary technologies creating huge opportunities for cleaner, cheaper, safer and more reliable journeys.

Through this strategy the government aims to take advantage of these innovations; connecting more people and bringing big benefits we hope for both the economy and the environment.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said:

The automotive industry is responding to perhaps the most significant change since the invention of the car. Mobility as we know it is evolving, improving people’s day-to-day lives with implications for all of society. Today’s strategy offers important guidance on the objectives and principles underpinning the future of mobility in towns and cities, while giving industry scope to invest and innovate, developing exciting new services.

We look forward to working closely with government and local authorities to shape the strategy’s implementation, helping to position the UK as a global leader in future mobility.

Future of Mobility Grand Challenge Business Champion and former Board Member of BMW, Ian Robertson said:

With a long history of transport innovation, a world-class research base and many established technology leaders, the UK is in prime position for a transport revolution.

The government’s vision as set out in the ‘Future of mobility: urban strategy’ will ensure that going forward, all businesses within the transport industry create technology that is accessible to everyone, environmentally friendly and economically worthwhile. In doing so, the industry can ensure it harnesses its domestic expertise to profit from a growing market for cleaner, safer and more efficient transport.

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street said:

Technology is going to completely change the way people get around, and we’re pleased the West Midlands is at the forefront of this revolution.

The West Midlands is already the beating heart of Britain’s self-driving vehicle testing, competing with Silicon Valley, Germany and China.

As the UK’s first ever future mobility area we are already developing these new technologies to help people get around more quickly and easily, and to build the next billion-dollar company like Uber or Tesla right here in Birmingham, Binley or Brierley.

The strategy, a key part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, also sets out 9 key principles that will guide government decision-making going forward, ensuring that emerging transport technologies are safe, accessible and green.

These include being: safe, secure and guarded against cyber threats; accessible to older people and those with visible and non-visible disabilities; and in line with the government’s ambition for a zero-emission future.

In a further boost for sustainable transport, the government has announced the first winners of the Transforming Cities Fund and awarded £60 million to 10 city regions for schemes supporting low-carbon vehicles, cycling and walking projects, and smart traffic controls. The Transforming Cities Fund aims to invest in public and sustainable transport infrastructure in some of England’s largest city regions, encouraging an increase in journeys made by low carbon modes.

The government has also published its response to the Last Mile call for evidence, outlining a range of measures to support cleaner and more sustainable last mile deliveries. These include increasing the uptake of e-cargo bikes and e-vans. In addition, working with the Energy Saving Trust, the government is also now inviting expressions of interest for £2 million of funding to support the uptake of e-cargo bikes.

DFID will provide up to £6 million of UK aid to send humanitarian relief to people in Mozambique and Malawi affected by Cyclone Idai.