When campaigning around local transport issues there are several different official channels to go through.
MPs, some councillors, MEPs and members of the House of Lords can be emailed quickly via writetothem.com.
Town and Parish councils
Although town and parish councils have very little say in transport policy and planning it’s worth contacting your local councillors to ask if they can help on a particular issue.
There’s a list of all 24 Epping Forest town and parish councils on the District Council website: EFDC – parish council details
District Council
Epping Forest District Council also has limited power over transport but does have a Local Highways Panel, which covers public transport.
The Chair of the Epping Forest’s Local Highways Panel is currently (July 2016) Cllr John Knapman.
Contact details for some of the other members of the panel are here: EFDC – Local Highways Panel.
Minutes and agendas of their meetings are on the Essex County Council website here: ECC – Local Highways Panel – Epping Forest.
The meetings are open to the public but there’s no publicised way for members of the public to directly raise questions there. However, town and parish councillors can ask for items to be added to the agenda.
See the Local Highways Panel Constitution and Terms of Reference (.pdf 17.2kB)for more information.
County Council
Essex County Council doesn’t have a Highways and Transport Committee: the cabinet member responsible for transport strategy and highways is Kevin Bentley
Every major decision about local transport in Epping Forest rests with him and the Cabinet, who vote on his reports.
Essex County Council also has a Passenger Transport Co-ordination Section, though there’s not much information about them on either the County or District Council websites: EFDC – Passenger Transport Co-ordination Section.
Member of Parliament
Our MP, currently Eleanor Laing, can help with campaigns and it’s worth writing to her over local transport issues. Eleanor Laing on the parliament website.
The House of Commons Transport Select Committee
The Transport Select Committee keeps an eye on the Department of Transport, which includes holding enquiries into legislation. The general public can send written submissions to the inquiries and contact committee members directly.
There’s general information about the committee here: Transport Committee
Details of the Committee members are here: Transport Committee members