Birmingham Post Transport Reporter Campbell Docherty meets Heather Crocker, who has been appointed by Advantage West Midlands to drive forward the key transport element of the economic revitalisation of the West Midlands... Last summer, when The Birmingham Post launched its Get Moving campaign, it published a Whos Who in the West Midlands transport scene. A lot of people made up that picture: power brokers, mandarins and some cogs in the machine that, frankly, are there for the sake of being a cog. Heather Crocker, Advantage West Midlands new transport policy advisor, is a fresh face in the regions longest-running and intractable debate. Her problem is how to stand apart from the old guard, which has presided over vested interests and sluggish progress, and not become just another cog. Far from coming to the table with a mouthful of empty promises and bluster, her message is one of pure pragmatic realism. To paraphrase her, it is lowkey work behind the scenes making planning law less of a minefield and funding streams more easily secured that eventually gets you a world-class railway station where New Street currently stands. The incorrect way forward is throwing your hands up to the heavens, sinking to your knees and baying at the moon for some justice when it comes to national transport funding as tempting as that may seem. Ms Crocker was spirited in her defence of AWM. It is the agency, she argued, that is able to come up with innovative ideas to shake-out dulled, constrained thinking. Look at the £150,000 AWM is spending in north Staffordshire to work out a transport strategy for Stoke and the surrounding area, she said. Or the £300,000 we gave to the Regional Transport Partnership to bring forward its transport priorities. I know they are woolly words and you have to put into context what you are talking about. That money was spent on looking at surface access from the north east to Birmingham International Airport and the NEC. Thats producing some good information which will help investment in infrastructure there. AWM hopes she can become a dispassionate voice on the regions transport issues. Her first shot at guiding the engine, rather than being just another piece of the machinery, is work currently being considered by the Government on innovative funding strategies. We all recognise there is not an endless supply of Government money and a lot of transport projects havent been taken forward because of shortfalls, she said. AWM recognised this and did some research into innovative funding methods. What sources can you find outside the government funding stream to make things happen quicker? Everything from congestion charging, workplace charging, direct build finance and operate schemes, privatised schemes. Ms Crocker, aged 44, joined AWM after being the Freight Transport Associations main Government lobbyist. That experience has clearly inured her with a desire to marry pragmatism with tough talking. We shouldnt let Government get away with it and not pay anything but this will help look for investment thats available more from other sources. Each funding stream is appropriate in different circumstances. But this is not prescriptive, it asks what is the best solution for any number of different schemes. If it is adopted in the region, it will hopefully provide a roadmap to find money for projects hitherto stalled for want of cash. The work is to make delivery quicker. We want to drive forward towards a world-class region with a world-class transport network. Everybody wants quick solutions but it takes a long time. People sit in their cars, in traffic jams, and want solutions now. I wish we could deliver them now but thats not going to happen. The vital thing we can do now is shorten timescales and get things done quicker. | 
