South-East of Scotland Regional Transport Partnership Appoints New Chair
The South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) has appointed Councillor Lesley Hinds as the Partnership’s new Chair. The decision of the Partnership Board was to appoint Councillor Hinds as a result of the previous Chair, Cllr Russell Imrie, serving his maximum permissible term.
Councillor Hinds said “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to Chair the Regional Transport Partnership at a time of opportunity to re-establish the strategic role of SEStran in planning for and delivering the policy context for inclusive and sustainable growth of the South-East of Scotland over the next 15-20 years.”
“I am looking forward to continuing the work of Cllr Imrie who provided clear leadership and built consensus across Councillor colleagues from Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Falkirk, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian alongside our 9 non-councillor Board members and wider communities of place and interest in furthering the development of the Partnership. The Board were very clear in their praise and admiration for Cllr Imrie’s long and distinguished service for SEStran and delighted that he has agreed previously to continue to serve as Senior Vice-Chair for the Partnership”.
“At our first Board meeting we agreed to completely refresh the Regional Transport Strategy. In developing the new Regional Transport Strategy, I want to involve all stakeholders, communities and individuals affected by transport issues across the South-East of Scotland to secure the necessary support and commitment to delivering the Regional Transport Strategy which has clear benefits in terms of increased growth but also increased equity for all.”
Above all, we need a strategy that delivers growth not distributes greater inequality, opens the SE of Scotland to wider markets but includes everyone in such opportunities, and continues to be sustainable environmentally, socially and economically.”