MORE than 120 people attended a special workshop in a bid to help shape the way we get to and from work in congested Hampshire.

According to forecasts, traffic will increase by one quarter in the south-east within ten years.

The transport solutions event, staged at The Guildhall, Winchester, was organised by Hampshire Economic Partnership, an umbrella organisation that brings various sectors together around the table.

The aim of the workshop was to gain the views of businesses in order to help inform and formulate the shape and priorities of the Local Transport Plan (LTP2) for Hampshire that is due for submission to government in July.

David Cooper OBE, deputy transport director of Government Office for the South East (GOSE), put the transport issue into context for the region, Rufus Boyd, commercial director of South West Trains, discussed the key challenges in the region as they relate to passenger transport and Iain Reeve of Hampshire County Council provided the local authority's perspective.

The issues identified by delegates included:

The need for more joined up thinking between the strategists at high level and those that make decisions at town planning level.

Rail gauge enhancements to allow more freight to travel by rail rather than by road.

Reliable, safe and secure public transport.

More integration of land-use planning to ensure employment/residential and leisure is developed in a holistic manner.

Nick Farthing, chairman of Hampshire Economic Partnership's transportation and logistics task group, said: "The general consensus across the workshops is that things need to be done earlier than waiting for the next ten years, via improved information, better education and increased use of existing resources.

"Delegates also felt that the government needs to get really serious about what they want in terms of transport infrastructure and demonstrate a real political will to make it happen."