June newsletter
This month we were proud to be official partners for Better Transport Week, enjoyed some green commutes to the office, and have been out and about at the Great Western Railway and Campaign for Better Transport conferences. Plus we have an update on our work on electric vehicles.
Better Transport Week
We were delighted to be an official partner again this year for Campaign for Better Transport’s Better Transport Week on 17th-21st June.
Better Transport Week is an annual celebration of sustainable transport to promote better, greener and fairer ways of travelling. Throughout the week we shared some of the ways we work to better transport for everyone in the Western Gateway, including setting up England’s first coach forum, contributing to improving rail services across the South West with our rail strategy, and how we are now working on a plan to improve cycle routes to some of our region’s most popular places.
And don’t forget to check out our Strategic Transport Plan 2024-2050 that sets out how we’re working with our local authorities, partners and government for the long-term to better transport in the Western Gateway region.
Better Transport Week closed with Campaign for Better Transport’s conference on Friday (pictured above), where we joined discussions about striving for sustainability, learning from the past to benefit the future, and the unique transport challenges faced in rural places.
Coming up, Net Zero week begins on Saturday 6th July. We would love to hear and share any plans you may have for this – please email us at WesternGatewaySTB@westofengland-ca.gov.uk.
South West EV forum
We ran another successful electric vehicle (EV) forum event for local authority officers this month, discussing the challenges the Western Gateway region is facing when it comes to charging infrastructure.
We will be hosting our next EV forum after the general election, to provide local authorities with an opportunity to ask questions to external stakeholders. Please email us at WesternGatewaySTB@westofengland-ca.gov.uk if you would like further information.
Alongside our forums, we are continuing to develop a South West EV Action Plan in partnership with Peninsula Transport STB. We look forward to keeping you up to date with our progress.
Diary amends
Due to the announcement of the general election which is to be held on Thursday 4th July, we have postponed June’s Western Gateway Board meeting which will now take place on Wednesday 10th July.
You can find information about all of our Board meetings – including upcoming dates, agendas, papers and minutes as well as watching the meetings – on our website here.
Our main freight forum, originally scheduled for June, has also been postponed. We will be in touch with our forum members to update them as well as sharing these details on our South West freight forum page. Please email WesternGatewaySTB@westofengland-ca.gov.uk if you would like to know more about this forum.
Our Great Big Green commutes
Great Big Green Week is the UK’s annual celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature, and this year it took place on 8th-16th June.
In a show of support throughout the week, the Western Gateway team shared their green commutes to work on our social media. Take a peek to discover who swapped their usual commutes for walking, cycling and travelling by train.
Rail news
We thoroughly enjoyed attending the Great Western Rail (GWR) Community Rail and Stakeholder Conference earlier this week and hearing more about the amazing community projects that are going on across the region.
It was positive to see such a wide variety of speakers on the day along with GWR and Network Rail, and we were excited to see what the next year could bring for rail. We will continue to work closely and support all our stakeholders in improving our rail network.
Next year marks 200 years since passenger train travel began, with the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. Network Rail are planning a year-long programme of activities and events to celebrate and inspire future generations of rail travel, and we look forward to planning how we can support this Railway 200 initiative.
In case you missed it…
Here’s a round-up of the latest news as seen on our social media channels. You can find us on X, formerly Twitter and LinkedIn.
South Gloucestershire shared an update on the building of the M49 Link Road.
A week of celebrating Community Rail Week kicked off in the sunshine at Yatton, where we enjoyed a tour around the garden station. South Western Railway shared a video showing the great work being done by volunteers locally at stations in the South West.
The Robin on-demand bookable bus service is expanding into parts of Tewkesbury, Berkeley Vale and the south Cotswolds.
Network Rail shared an update on the final stages of works at Bristol’s new Ashley Down station.
You can keep up to date with all our work by following us on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/western-gateway-stb and X, formerly Twitter @WestGatewaySTB and subscribing to our newsletters by emailing westerngateway_stb@westofengland-ca.gov.uk
