Nottinghamshire commuters urged to get on board with Mayor’s transport consultation

The authority – which covers Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – launched the EMCCA Mayor’s Big Transport Conversation from November 17 for people to share views and to contribute towards plans for a 15-year vision to improve connectivity across the two counties after the consultation was backed by the authority’s Transport and Digital Connectivity Committee.

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, who launched the consultation during a visit to Mansfield Bus Station, said: “I’m delighted that the committee has backed my vision for transport. This plan sets out a bold and necessary approach to improving travel across the East Midlands, but it’s vital that local people help shape it by joining the conversation.”

EMCCA aims to eventually produce a Local Transport Plan to set a direction and guide investment decisions and after considerable engagement, including a detailed workshop with its transport committee, its public consultation will run until February 8, 2026.

The Mayor’s Transport Plan focuses on three major goals including making public transport easier to use and more affordable, providing better travel choices that reduce car dependency and connect every community, and upgrading and maintaining highways to ensure they are reliable and resilient as travel patterns alter and the climate changes.

Discussions with Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire county and Derby and Nottingham city councils have helped to ensure the plan balances priorities such as inclusive growth, and the environmental impacts of transport and that it recognises the nature of the EMCCA region and its urban, suburban and rural areas, and the needs of different communities and demographics.

The consultation questionnaire also includes a detailed section on buses because of the work being prepared on the Bus Service Improvement Plan for the region.

It has also considered Government carbon emissions guidance and a full transport model is in the process of being commissioned to help support the development of the Transport Plan.

Ms Ward has previously said: “It’s your plan as much as it will be mine because we cannot deliver this without everyone’s engagement and we cannot get it right without everybody’s engagement.”

Four documents aim to be published as part of the consultation including a Discussion Document setting out the key challenges and opportunities, an Executive Summary of the Discussion Document, separate Questionnaires for the public and for organisations on key challenges, and an Evidence Base Summary explaining how challenges and opportunities are to be addressed by the Transport Plan.

Committee members’ thoughts following a meeting in October have already helped inform a linked Engagement Plan with plans including the recent launch event, community engagement through formats such as public exhibitions, partner and stakeholder workshops, and focus groups with under-represented groups.

Councillors at the transport committee meeting raised elements that they would like to see included in the consultation including better transport for social well-being and health, and consideration of greenhouse gases, air quality and congestion.

Ms Ward told the meeting people will need buses not just for work but to get to appointments which can be a ‘massive challenge’ in rural areas.

She also recognised that travel is not limited to within the East Midlands county regions with some people in north Derbyshire choosing to go to hospital in Sheffield, Rotherham or Chesterfield so she stressed that it is important EMCCA understands where people are accessing services.

Ms Ward added: “For too many people in the East Midlands, life doesn’t work because transport doesn’t work. When buses are too expensive, trains don’t run when people need them, or roads aren’t safe or reliable. It affects everything, from work, education, healthcare, and the simple ability to stay connected with family and friends.

“That’s why this plan starts with you. I want to hear your experiences, your priorities, and your ideas. I want to understand what matters most to you, what works well, what doesn’t, and what would make the biggest difference to your daily life. Together, we can shape a transport system that truly works for everyone.

“My vision for the East Midlands is simple: public transport that’s easy and affordable to use, communities connected to one another, not just to the biggest cities and roads and infrastructure that are safe, well maintained, and fit for the future.

“These are big ambitions, but I’m not afraid of the challenge. Some things will take time, but others can change quickly if we focus our efforts in the right places. As your Mayor, I’m ready to fight for the improvements that will make the East Midlands a fairer, greener, better-connected region.

“So read this plan, think about the future you want, and tell me what you want me to fight for because this is just the start of building a transport system that makes life work for everyone.”

EMCCA, which is due to take over responsibility for transport from the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire authorities, launched its first Transport and Digital Connectivity Committee meeting in September with plans to begin allocating £2bn of transport funding for the Mayor’s Transport Plan which aims to address challenges faced by rural communities.

It’s transport committee has been discussing reimagining public transport services, the transport transition programme and setting out a bold pipeline of investment-ready projects that the authority claims will make a real difference to daily life, from smoother roads and modern bus fleets to greener rail links and safer cycling routes.

Labour MP for Mansfield, Steve Yemm, said: “It was brilliant to join Mayor Claire Ward this morning (November 17) for the launch of this consultation at Mansfield Bus Station.

“Thanks to this Labour Government working hand in hand with our Labour Mayor, we are now getting huge investment into public transport in the East Midlands after years of being forgotten by the Conservatives.

“It is vital the views of my constituents and people across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are now heard so our Mayor can shape a bold new vision for transport in our region, supporting people to get to work, school or college, and to see their friends and loved ones. I’d urge everyone to take part.”

Those wishing to take part in the consultation are urged to visit the EMCCA website www.eastmidlands-cca.gov.uk to share their views and to be part of what the authority hopes will lead to a better-connected East Midlands.

Ms Ward has also recently joined forces with two regional mayors, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, under a new agreement dubbed The Peak Partnership to better support Derbyshire Peak District’s rural communities with improved transport links between two major cities while boosting a thriving visitor economy, better housing and training.