Professor Stephen Glaister has stood down as a Trustee of the Fund after 40 years of unbroken service. Stephen was a recipient of a Rees Jeffreys Fellowship at the start of his long and distinguished career and with typical modesty in saying farewell to the Fund he said, “I want to thank the Fund and my fellow Trustees for making my career”. He went on to express his wish that the Fund continues its work in the same way as it has done during his time for many more years to come.

On behalf of the Trustees David Tarrant thanked Stephen for his his remarkable contribution over that long time. “His vast experience and unique blend of skills and knowledge will be sorely missed by his fellow Trustees. He had been a consistent supporter of the Fund undertaking several roles to which he always applied his wise counsel. I can safely say an involvement of such a consistent high quality over such a sustained period will never be repeated. Everyone involved with the Fund wishes Stephen well for the future.”

Rees Jeffreys is pleased to report the award of eight bursaries to students taking a full time Masters in transport in 2019/20.  For more details visit the Bursaries page.

A note of a Round Table discussion hosted by the Fund with senior figures involved in future planning for England’s road network on strategic challenges has now been released.  It follows publications of reports from WSP and Phil Carey on MRN related topics.  For more information go to the publications page.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Andy Graham as a new Trustee with immediate effect. Andy is a civil engineer with 33 years’ experience in transport projects using new technology and assessing and optimising the operational and business impacts and benefits they deliver. He has held director level appointments at AECOM, developing consultancy teams to support multi-million-pound project delivery and now leads his own company, White Willow Consulting.

Chairman of the Fund David Tarrant welcomed the latest appointment saying “Andy’s strong CV including his experience with new technology in transport projects will be a great addition to the Trustee team”.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Hilary Chipping as a new Trustee with immediate effect. Hilary is Chief Executive at the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), which she helped to establish in 2011.   She oversees the £265m programme of investment through the Local Growth Fund and the development of the Local Industrial Strategy designed to increase productivity. She works closely with Central Government, local authority and private sector partners to enhance skills, support businesses and deliver economic  growth. From 2008 to 2011 she was Director of the Milton Keynes South Midlands Growth Area (the largest growth area in the UK). As Director of Network Strategy at the Highways Agency from 2001 to 2007 she developed the investment strategy for the motorway and trunk road network.

Chairman of the Fund David Tarrant welcomed the appointment saying “Hilary’s experience and knowledge will be of great value and I know she make a really important contribution that will add to the existing Trustee team”.

Getting all our roads to work better

The Rees Jeffreys Road Fund is keen to renew the debate about what we want from our roads in England, and how they should best be run, building on the impact made by our Major Road Network proposals in 2016.

Over the past year Rees Jeffreys has funded two follow-up pieces of work on the direction of travel with the road network as a whole, covering both the user experience and governance issues. These can both be found on our publication page https://www.reesjeffreys.co.uk/transport-reports/

The Fund’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2018 is now available at Reports and Accounts 2018 .  An annual return for 2018 to the Charity Commission has also been completed.

At yesterday’s Trustee meeting (5^th February 2019) both David Hutchinson and Martin Shaw stood down after many years of serving the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund.

Martin has been a Trustee since 2006 and in leaving he commented “Trusteeship of the RJRF for thirteen years has been a privilege and a pleasure. It is reassuring to know that the future of the Fund is in the hands of such bright and committed people.”  Martin made an invaluable contribution as a Trustee particularly in offering his expertise and knowledge on matters relating to planning, environmental and transportation issues.

David has been a Trustee since 2009 and Chairman since 2014.  As Chairman David has championed a more proactive approach to the Fund’s work, overseen the successful completion of the MRN project, reviewed both the Governance and the Fund’s strategic approach, and brought new skills and expertise to the Trustee group.

The Fund would want to record its sincere thanks to both David and Martin for the energy, enthusiasm, commitment and the significant contribution they have made to the Fund’s work.

David Tarrant will succeed David Hutchinson as Chairman of Rees Jeffreys Road Fund after the Trustee meeting on 5^th February 2019.  David has been a Trustee for ten years and Chairman since 2014.

During his time as Chairman, David has:

• overseen gradual but important changes in the Trustee membership in order to maintain the right mix of skills and experience;
• continued to promote the development of the profession by working with Universities to fund bursaries to post graduates in transport studies;
• encouraged a pro – active role for the Fund in commissioning research, including the landmark study into the Major Roads Network.

David Hutchinson commented “I am pleased to be able to hand over the reins to David Tarrant. The Fund continues to play an important role in supporting transport research and promoting professional development.  We have an excellent group of Trustees who I am sure will carry on the work for many years to come”.

David Tarrant has been a Trustee since 2014 and has a wealth of experience in the transport industry.  Having just retired from Mott MacDonald he can apply himself to his new role and will be supported by Ginny Clarke, who has agreed to take on the new role of Vice Chair.  As Vice Chair, Ginny will focus on overseeing the Fund’s own investments and succession planning.

David Tarrant remarked “I am honoured to follow David Hutchinson as Chairman of the Fund.  David has done a great job in ensuring that the Fund is widely known and respected; and supported projects that are relevant to the transport issues of today. The MRN study was one of David’s lasting achievements. There is further work that can be done to take that study forward which I intend to encourage in my time as Chairman.  The Fund is in good shape and I am really looking forward, with Ginny’s and fellow Trustees help, to taking on my new role.”