Chris Seaman

Essex County Council - Passenger Transport Highways & Planning Manager @Jacobs

I am in my fifth year of secondment to the Essex County Council (ECC) Passenger Transport Team undertaking an exciting role, in which I am a leading advocate for the promotion, facilitation and development of the County’s Passenger Transport network. I am the main contact for all Highways major schemes, spatial planning and development management matters across Essex, as well as providing strategic input into Essex’s economic development fora on matters appertaining to passenger transport. Working with both County and District level officers, as well as developers I develop holistic integrated countywide passenger transport plans for achieving modal shift, through the design of commercially viable networks. I am currently acting as lead officer on passenger transport matters appertaining to the development of Essex’s 9 new Garden Towns and a number of other major developments across the County and indeed across the borders. A key underlying purpose for my role is to bridge the knowledge / skills / awareness gap between the ECC public transport team, the transport operators and the highways and utilities sectors –ensuring that Highway designs and construction methodologies are supportive of passenger transport operations. I must therefore be able to communicate effectively in a variety of styles with a wide range of organisations, to ensure that opportunities and operational performance can be maximized. In my first year of secondment, I worked as Area Review Manager for 8 of Essex’s 12 districts. This involved reviewing the existing contracted bus network, consulting with key internal and external stakeholders, as well as undertaking research to ascertain the location, scale and format of both current and future major trip attractors and generators. Thereafter developing a new integrated network of bus routes, tendering and awarding contracts and preparing operators for implementation.