England's Economic Heartland joins Future Cities Forum
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Future Cities Forum is delighted that Naomi Green, Managing Director of England's Economic Heartland, is joining our 'New Towns and the Oxford Cambridge Growth Corridor' forum at Milton Keynes City Council in March.
Naomi joined England's Economic Heartland in 2018 and in March 2022 became its Managing Director, responsible for delivering the sub-national transport body's work programme. This includes: implementation of the regional Transport Strategy; providing advice to Government on the region's investment priorities; and ensuring major schemes, such as East West Rail, are delivered in a way that brings a lasting legacy for the region and the UK as a whole.
In her work, Naomi places significant emphasis on both partnership working and adopting a placed-based approach to planning and investing in connectivity.
Naomi is currently Chair of both the wider South East Rail Partnership and the national STB policy group - the key engagement point for STBs with DfT, National Highways and Network Rail. Prior to joining EEH, Naomi worked in both the government's Cities and Local Growth Unit and the Department for Transport.
England's Economic Heartland is one of seven sub-national transport bodies covering the entirety of England outside of London. it advises the Government on the strategic transport priorities for the region, which includes the entirety of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor. EEH also works to improve existing services and maximise the benefits of forthcoming infrastructure such as East West Rail.
It says:
'We create economies of scale for our local and combined authority partners by developing tools and data they can use, while also sharing best practice and expert advice within our Centre of Excellence. We are funded by DfT and our local and combined authority partners, and steered by our Strategic Transport Leadership Board of local elected leaders and cabinet members.'
Naomi joins Cllr Pete Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes Council, Paul Thomas, Director of Planning and Place-making also at the council, Will Gallagher, Strategy Director at East West Rail and Nigel Hugill, CEO at developer Urban & Civic, among other contributors.
Milton Keynes City Council has recently announced that it has signed a new agreement with major developers and landowners to strengthen Milton Keynes’ national role as a provider of homes, infrastructure, jobs and well-planned communities.
The Council says:
'The Memorandum of Understanding marks a commitment to work together following the recommendation of the New Towns Task Force that Milton Keynes form part of the UK’s next generation of new towns.
'By presenting a united voice, the Milton Keynes New Town Partnership aims to secure investment, improve infrastructure and create growth that benefits residents and businesses across Milton Keynes.
'Milton Keynes has become one of the country’s most dynamic and fastest growing cities, home to major national employers, a thriving tech and digital sector, and a long history of innovation. The city continues to attract talent and investment, building on the forward thinking ideas that shaped it from the start. This new partnership is designed to help Milton Keynes build on its success to ensure future growth is well-planned, sustainable and improves opportunities for local people.
'The agreement brings the City Council together with Berkeley, the Bristol Society of Merchant Venturers, Gallagher, Hallam Land, Milton Keynes Development Partnership, Taylor Wimpey and Urban&Civic. Together, these developers and landowners control land for around 40,000 new homes and the infrastructure that will support them, helping to create the strong, vibrant communities of the future.'
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