England's Economic Heartland is one of seven

sub-national transport bodies A sub-national transport body (STBs) is a type of ad hoc statutory transport governance organisation in the United Kingdom. They are intended to provide strategic transport governance at a much larger scale than existing local transport authorities, ...

in England. EEH is a partnership of councils, stretching from Swindon and Oxfordshire in the west to Cambridgeshire in the east, and from Northamptonshire down to Hertfordshire. The area includes the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, as defined by Government.

About

England's Economic Heartland was founded in November 2015. Since September 2023 it has been chaired by Cllr Liz Leffman, leader of

Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. Established in 1889, it is an elected body responsible for most strategic local government ...

. It is overseen by a Board containing the leaders or cabinet members/ portfolio holders from its constituent authorities. It is jointly funded by the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

and its local and combined authority members.

Constituent members

Swindon Borough Council Swindon Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Swindon in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. It was founded in 1974 as Thamesdown Borough Council, and was a lower-tier district council until 1997. In 1997 it was re ...

West Northamptonshire Council West Northamptonshire Council is the local authority for West Northamptonshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functi ...

North Northamptonshire Council North Northamptonshire Council is the local authority for North Northamptonshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the funct ...

Buckinghamshire Council Buckinghamshire Council is the Local Government in England, local authority for the Buckinghamshire (district), Buckinghamshire district in England. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, performing both county and district- ...

Milton Keynes Council Milton Keynes City Council is the local authority for the City of Milton Keynes, a local government district in Buckinghamshire, England. The council was established in 1974 as Milton Keynes Borough Council. Since 1997 it has been a unitary au ...

Bedford Borough Council Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The town of Bedford was a borough from at least the 12th century until 1974, when the moder ...

Central Bedfordshire Council Central Bedfordshire Council is the local authority for Central Bedfordshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functi ...

Luton Borough Council Luton Borough Council, also known as Luton Council, is the local authority of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Luton has had an elected local authority since 1850, which has been reformed several times. Since 1997 the co ...

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council for non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county, which additionally includes the City o ...

Peterborough City Council Peterborough City Council is the local authority for Peterborough, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Peterborough has had a council since 1874, which has been reformed several time ...

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is a combined authority covering the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire in the East of England. The authority was established on 3 March 2017. The authority is led by the directly elected may ...

Role

In common with other sub-national transport bodies, England's Economic Heartland advises the

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

on the strategic transport priorities in the region which would support economic growth. It also works with councils,

, transport bodies such as

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...

and

National Highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

, and other organisations, to seek to improve the existing transport system, for example by making it better integrated between modes. In March 2025 Secretary of State for Transport,

Heidi Alexander Heidi Alexander (born 17 April 1975) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Transport since November 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Swindon South since 2024. Previously ...

, wrote to England's Economic Heartland and said it had a 'key role to play in ensuring

East West Rail East West Rail (or the East West Main Line, EWML) is a strategic aim to establish a new main line railway between East Anglia and Oxfordshire. The immediate plan is to build (or rebuild) a line linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Mi ...

is part of an integrated transport network and that the benefits of investment in the new line are fully realised'. In addition, England's Economic Heartland says it supports its local and combined authority members with data, tools and expert advice, for example around ways they can plan for reducing

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

from transport in their areas.

Transport Strategy

In 2021 England's Economic Heartland produced a regional Transport Strategy which guides decisions about investment and priorities up to 2050.

Priorities

In February 2025 England's Economic Heartland submitted evidence as part of the UK Government's call for evidence on the multiyear

Spending Review A spending review, or occasionally a comprehensive spending review, is a governmental process in the United Kingdom carried out by HM Treasury to set firm expenditure limits and, through public service agreements, define the key improvements that ...

. This set out what England's Economic Heartland refers to as 'key transport improvements' identified through its evidence base and agreed by its Board, which would 'unlock significant economic growth opportunities'. This includes 'maximising East West Rail', for example through enhanced connectivity to stations by bus and active travel, and delivery of the missing Aylesbury-Milton Keynes link; delivery o
Ely Junction upgrades
and funding to improve bus services and develop mass rapid transit networks.

References