WEBs – can they be negative?
The second in our series of blogs looking at how Paul Buchanan has continued to develop the techniques and spread the application of WEBs. Can WEBs be negative? I spent many years after Crossrail espousing the power of WEBs: the economic growth that resulted, the additional tax revenues accruing to government and all of the […]
The history of Wider Economic Benefits (WEBs)
Paul Buchanan started WEBs, secured the original approval of WEBs by government and has continued to develop the techniques and spread the application of WEBs ever since. This series of blogs looks at some of the key changes and innovations that were introduced over time. They range from the original work on Crossrail, through early […]
Volterra gives speech at Annual Transport Practitioners Conference
Partner Paul Buchanan and Senior Consultant Lucy Dean recently spoke at the Annual Transport Practitioners Meeting (TPM) Conference. Their presentation ‘Can you change government’s mind on major infrastructure projects’ was based on work produced by Volterra on HS2, Crossrail and, topically, the London Airport expansion. They discussed the factors that affect government decision making on […]
‘Re-inventing’ London: Planning for the Future
London is changing. But then, it always is. The theme of my new book, ‘Reinventing London’ is that change is the lifeblood of a great city. Over the past thirty years it has replaced around 1 million jobs in manufacturing, largely around the edge of the city and along the radial routes, with more than […]
Statistical rigour and HS2
At the Treasury Select Committee, in relation to HS2, Professor Graham said that it was important that we get these numbers right and in a scientifically rigorous way. Both he and Professor Overman attacked the work published by KPMG as not only insufficiently rigorous, but also on the grounds that the results are too optimistic. […]
A wake-up call for the Department of Transport: do the proper sums, HS2 is worth it
The High Speed 2 rail project is under fire on many fronts. The Nimby protests in the affluent Home Counties have been augmented last week by more weighty criticism by the National Audit Office (NAO) of the scheme. At least, this is how the NAO’s work has come across in the media. But the NAO […]