It was an absolute pleasure this week to celebrate the year with the entire LCRIG team at our Christmas do.
What a year it has been for us all, punctuated by a number of key events. This year has seen us strengthen our relationship with the DfT through our connections with the likes of Laura Murphy, Matt Eglinton, Mark Macgarty and Darren Capes who is also the lead for the Transport Technology Forum, which we heavily support. These good people have supported us throughout the year and have been in attendance at our major events that include the Innovation Festival and Strictly Highways.
You will already know that we have set the dates for 2023 for these events which promise to be even bigger and better than 2022 – if that’s at all possible! The thousands of connections made, not just at our bigger gatherings, but also through our series of webinars and hundreds of meetings has undoubtedly resulted in the highways sector becoming stronger, more agile and efficient, despite the prevailing economic conditions that we have all faced throughout the year.
The Infrastructure Innovation Board, chaired by Ian Large has supported numerous innovations that are now on trial on one or more of our members networks and this particular board continues to act as an incubator that helps highway innovations hatch much quicker than could otherwise be achieved. Our own team has had to grow to accommodate the significant increased activity within LCRIG and to cope with the increased membership of both public and private sector organisations. We are now focused on 2023 and have agreed the LCRIG workplan that with a focus on meeting the needs of all of our members.
This might be my last message before Christmas, as Paula will provide you with an update next week, so I’d like to wish you all a safe and happy Xmas break.