Derby & Nottingham Transforming Cities Fund Business Cases



Successful delivery of service requirements

ITP prepared the draft and final SOBC submissions for Nottingham and Derby City Councils’ joint TCF Tranche 2 funding bid. Our work, completed under time pressure and through an evolving competitive bidding framework, secured £161m of capital funding for transformative walking, cycling, bus priority measures, park & ride, electric vehicle charging technologies, smart fare back office systems and demand responsive bus service infrastructure. The bid was the only submission to receive the full amount of TCF funding sought, with DfT’s feedback indicating this was “a very positive reflection of [the] work to develop the programme, and to prioritise to an appropriate size of package”.

Phase 1 – Scheme development and draft SOBC

We assisted the two councils through the Stage 1 assessment and development of schemes. Our initial assessment of current and future transport issues affecting the study area included research into existing and future transport schemes and major growth proposals, along with identification of local economic and mobility objectives. Stakeholders were involved in discussions to help identify potential ideas and solutions to the transport challenges and opportunities, ensuring early buy-in and early-stage mitigation of potential delivery and viability concerns.

Initial option generation was undertaken through a series of collaborative workshops with Council officers to identify network gaps and opportunities; yielding a long-list of potential schemes. This was then sifted to identify the preferred schemes using an appraisal framework which ensured the schemes included in the bid closely related to core aims and objectives from DfT as the funder, and local objectives of the two Councils. It included six criteria based upon a combination of:

Following the sifting process, preferred schemes were refined and combined into complementary packages. The process used to identify and develop appropriate solutions was documented in an Option Assessment Report in accordance with The Transport Appraisal Process (DfT, 2018). A WebTAG-led methodology to model and appraise the impacts of each scheme was prepared and documented in an Appraisal Specification Report. The report included details of the proposed approach to modelling and forecasting; the proposed methodology for assessing each of the sub-impacts presented within the Appraisal Specification Summary Table and the level of design informing the cost estimates.

A draft SOBC was prepared setting out the strategic case for each of the four components of the proposed programme, alongside an indicative value for money assessment. This was used to inform subsequent co-development of schemes and packages with DfT colleagues.

Derby and Nottingham business case map

Phase 2 - Economic appraisal and final SOBC.

The second phase of the project centred on the economic appraisal of the preferred schemes and the preparation of the final SOBC. We forecast cumulative scheme impacts and monetised benefits through a combination of strategic model tests for TUBA, Active Mode Appraisal Toolkit, DfT’s environmental impacts worksheet, TfL’s Valuing Urban Realm Toolkit (to estimate the benefits associated with the £20m Broadmarsh public realm improvements), and bespoke spreadsheet models applying TAG variables. Impacts were combined into a multi-faceted economic appraisal, with SOBC level impact assessments for three Low/Medium/High costed packages (in line with DfT guidelines).

The final SOBC was submitted in November 2019, and prepared in line with the principles of HMT and Department for Transport Major Scheme Business Case guidance (with Strategic, Economic, Financial, Commercial and Management cases). The SOBC included mapping of the challenges and the options developed to address them, alongside infographics and visualisations to articulate the evidence base for the schemes and the steps taken to appraise their impacts.

The successful award announced by the Government in the 2020 Spring Budget announcement. The bid was awarded full funding for the high cost scenario, the only city region to achieve this, with DfT indicating that this was “a very positive reflection of [the] work to develop the programme, and to prioritise to an appropriate size of package”.

Full Business Case preparation and assurance – continuing support

Our input has continued beyond the SOBC submission stage, and involves working with the project managers overseeing delivery of each TCF-funded scheme to develop robust Full Business Case submissions that document the closure and mitigation of identified risks and more detailed Financial, Commercial and Management Cases – commensurate with the maturation of each scheme. Each FBC will be reviewed by the D2N2 LEP, and its technical Consultants, fulfilling the role of assurance body for the Derby and Nottingham TCF programme and de-risking the delivery process.

How we addressed issues and risks to deliver on time and to budget

The draft SOBC was submitted to DfT in summer 2019, and we responded proactively to the feedback they offered to refine our Appraisal Specification methodology and build-in multi-modal transport assessment using the regional transport model (developed originally for HS2) at short notice. We also intelligently, and correctly, interpreted DfT’s published guidance and ongoing dialogue regarding the type, nature and scale of schemes that would be considered fundable through the TCF programme.

Other key risks we managed effectively included:

  • Proportionate and judicious use of the multi-modal transport model – limiting tests to one run per Low / Medium / High funding package.
  • Investing time early in the bid submission process to complete Active Mode appraisals for known scheme components – ensuring their outputs could inform strategic model tests.
  • Taking a conservative approach to assumed behavioural responses to proposed interventions, which has proven wise in the subsequent CV-19 context in which schemes are being delivered.
  • Documenting and refining our approach to economic appraisal as the bid progressed – thereby allowing us to answer technical questions from DfT as they occurred.

Track record of securing bid-based funding

This is one example of ITP’s track record of successfully unlocking transport funds on behalf of clients. We have helped secure over £300 million of infrastructure and revenue funding in the last eight years – primarily for active travel measures, and largely through central Government funding competitions.

The key to our success has been the pragmatic and proportionate approach we have adopted to economic appraisal and business case development, informed by our thorough understanding of the costs and benefits of transport schemes and our familiarity with the evidence base. We make use of the most appropriate assessment tools available and use the most relevant data sources, while carefully documenting our approach and evidence in a transparent way that funding decision-makers can follow.