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ITEM EN3
ENVIRONMENT & ECONOMY SCRUTINY committee
MINUTES of the meeting held on 20 February 2008 commencing at 12.00 noon and finishing at 4.15 pm.
Present:
Voting Members: Councillor Colin Lamont - in the chair
Councillor Sushila Dhall Councillor Patrick Greene Councillor Pete Handley Councillor Steve Hayward Councillor Terry Joslin Councillor Charles Mathew Councillor David Nimmo-Smith Councillor Anne Purse Councillor Roz Smith
By Invitation:
The following were invited as witnesses to take part in the Cycling to Work select committee (Item 7):
Simon Hunt, attending on behalf of James Styring, representing Cyclox Ann Furtardo, attending on behalf of Simon Pratt, representing Sustrans
John Stevens, Facilities Manager – MEPC (Milton Park) Dawn Crawford, Green Transport Co-ordinator – MEPC (Milton Park)
Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Cabinet Member for Transport, Oxfordshire Council Council (OCC) James Drew, Team Leader (Travel Plans) (OCC) Martin Kraft, Senior Transport Planner (OCC) Peter Mann, Assistant Head of Transport (OCC)
Officers:
Whole of meeting: M. Bramall, S.D. Howell, G.K. Malcolm (Corporate Core).
Part of meeting:
The Scrutiny Committee considered the matters, reports and recommendations contained or referred to in the agenda for the meeting, together with a schedule of addenda tabled at the meeting and agreed as set out below. Copies of the agenda, reports and schedule are attached to the signed Minutes.
1/08 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Dhall declared a personal interest as a member of Cyclox.
2/08 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 12 December 2008 were approved and signed.
Matters arising from Minute 50/07-Forward Plan:
A40 Downs Road, Witney – Junction Improvement:
Officers reported that the item had been rescheduled for consideration at the Cabinet Member for Transport Delegated Decisions session on 24 April 2008. Members asked for this amendment to be publicised and the outcome brought to the 21 May 2008 of the Committee.
A415 Newbridge River Thames Crossing:
Officers were working on proposals which would be included in the Forward Plan as and when a decision was to be made. The Committee requested an update on the 21 May 2008.
3/08 TRACKING SCRUTINY ITEMS (Agenda Item 5)
(a) Minerals & Waste Development Framework – Update
Councillor Roger Belson, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development brought to the Committee’s attention an extract from a newsletter to members by the Minerals & Waste Policy Team Leader (EN5(a)).
Mr. Day reported correspondence between the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Andrew Smith MP, in which she indicated her appreciation of the challenges faced by planning authorities and that inspectorate officers would host a meeting with officers from Oxfordshire on the outstanding concerns.
Members considered that the Council found itself in an intolerable situation in the light of the continuing absence of guidance from the Government Office.
The Committee AGREED to ask the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development to make a public statement on the current position regarding the production of the Oxfordshire Minerals & Waste Development Framework. Officers undertook to circulate to Committee members the Secretary of State’s letter dated 21 January 2008.
(b) Fundamental Service Review of Transport – Update
The Head of Transport’s report on the Fundamental Service Review was set out in the Schedule of Addenda. Councillor Patrick Greene had requested to attend.
4/08 FORWARD PLAN (Agenda Item 6)
The Committee considered whether there were any items in the current Forward Plan on which it might wish to have an opportunity to offer advice to the Cabinet before any decision was taken.
The Committee identified the following topic for discussion prior to consideration by the Cabinet on 15 July 2008:
South East Plan – Proposed Modifications (Ref: 2008/003)
5/08 MATT BRAMALL, SCRUTINY REVIEW OFFICER
The Chairman reported that Matt Bramall, Scrutiny Review Officer had been appointed Health & Well Being Partnership Board Officer with effect from 17 March 2008. The Committee congratulated Mr. Bramall on his appointment and thanked him for his scrutiny work.
The Committee supported the provision of temporary cover for the post until a replacement was in place. The Chairman undertook to raise with the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group the principle of temporary cover for scrutiny review officer vacancies.
Following an adjournment, the Chairman welcomed witnesses to the afternoon session.
6/08 CYCLING TO WORK (Agenda Item 7)
On 19 September 2007 the Scrutiny Committee included this topic in its Work Programme as a ‘select committee’ style question and answer session in order to enable the Committee, via its Lead Members (Councillors Lamont, Greene & Dhall), to report on the Council’s methods for increasing cycling to work in Oxfordshire. Following the meeting, the Lead Members and Scrutiny Review Officer undertook to prepare a report for Cabinet consideration.
The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting, which was the first to be held by the Scrutiny Committee in a ‘select-committee’ style.
The Committee then conducted interviews in groups as follows:
2:00 Simon Hunt (Cyclox) / Ann Furtado (Sustrans):
· The ease of reporting obstructions in the road was discussed, with some awareness of the Council’s methods of accepting comments. The speed of response to such obstructions varied dependent on whereabouts in the County the obstruction lay. · Mr. Hunt highlighted the lack of a long-term plan for a county-wide cycle network. Cyclox were keen to see plans for an overarching strategy to deliver such a network, perhaps even one that highlighted one set of routes for experienced cyclists and another for less confident users. · Ms. Furtardo responded to queries about some Oxfordshire cycle routes finishing suddenly that Sustrans builds only complete routes. Mr. Hunt suggested that the discontinuity of routes is a barrier to increased cycle use, as supported by a recent Cyclox survey. He also noted that expensive measures were not always required to improve the continuity of routes, such as repainting or creating an Advanced Stop Line. · Neither interviewee could comment on suggestions that a group of users were cycling less as they grew older due to safety concerns; though Ms. Furtardo suggested that promoting cycling training was a good way of raising confidence amongst cyclists. · Cambridge, Warrington, Hull, Sheffield, York, Brighton and continental locations were suggested as good examples of cities with good cycle networks. · Both interviewees felt that it would be beneficial for the Council to have a single point of contact for coordinating cycling matters, such as organising a regular forum with employers and pressure groups. · Both interviewees agreed that cycling on pavements was not to be encouraged in most circumstances, though this area dependent. · Mr. Hunt suggested that the Travel to Work group mirror the best practice of the Travel to School group.
2:30 John Stevens / Dawn Crawford (MEPC(Milton Park))
· In response to a query about how MEPC encouraged commuting by cycle, Ms. Crawford explained that Milton Park has a Travel Plan, which had been created with the assistance of the Council; they organise lift share and bicycle buddy schemes; and all of their buildings have shower facilities. · Mr. Stevens believed circa. 2% of Milton Park users were committed cyclists, rising to 5% in the summer months, based on past surveys. He also noted that the shuttle bus was a popular green alternative. · To consolidate support given to cyclists, MEPC was building new cycle paths and improving existing MEPC paths, alongside constant renewal of the Travel Plan. · Mr. Stevens reported that the modal shift over the past three years in favour of cycling was 61%. Most users preferred the shuttle bus as a green alternative, rather than cycling. Also, site usage had increased dramatically, thus there were many more users cycling even though the percentage remained similar. · Ms. Crawford noted that some users would like to see the lighting along the main road beside the power plant and Daily Mail printing plant improved as a priority. There was a perception that this route was not currently safe to cycle on in the dark, a particular problem in winter. · In response to a query as to whether Milton Park could submit wider proposals in partnership with other employers, Ms. Crawford responded that this had been a possibility in the past when the Council organised meetings between employers, but that the relationship was less formal now. · Mr. Stevens noted that users often requested more bus services and cycle paths in Wantage, an area of significant growth. · Ms. Crawford suggested that users wanted safe, well-lit and preferably off-road cycle routes. The Didcot route was of particular concern. · In response to a query about partnership with the Council, Ms. Crawford reported that there had been little partnership work since the Transport Officer with responsibility for promoting business travel plans had left.
3:00 – 4:15 Councillor Ian Hudspeth; Peter Mann; James Drew; and Martin Kraft.
· Mr. Mann introduced the group and highlighted that increasing cycle uptake was not an end in itself and had to fit into the broader transport strategy across Oxfordshire, particular in relation to reducing travel by car. · Mr. Kraft noted the importance of good literature in promoting cycling and safety, with scope to do more in this area. · In response to a query, Mr. Drew reported that the Council was one of the biggest customers with a market leader in the manufacture of cycle sheds, which was a mutually beneficial relationship in terms of costs and design. · Mr. Mann commented on the success of the Travel to School team, which was a result of staff time dedicated to achieving a Government target that all schools should have a Travel Plan by 2010. After this date, there was the potential to expand this role to Travel to Work. The decision not to directly replace the Transport Officer with responsibility for promoting business travel plans was a result of resource priorities. All LTP2 funds had to be directed towards achieving Government objectives. · Councillor Hudspeth undertook to examine what other authorities received a result of the Cycling England grant and the details of funding for Oxfordshire. On working with partners, Councillor Hudspeth noted that his recent cycle tour of Oxford conducted with Cyclox would be taken note of in future implementation. · In response to query regarding why the LTP2 document did not present any real detail regarding cycling, Councillor Hudspeth responded that it primarily discussed activity that the Council was funded to take, rather than what the Council would wish to fund. The layout of Oxford City made implementing changes in the short term difficult. · Mr. Mann commented that Advanced Stop Lines were only usually investigated when a road was being resurfaced. Also, much of the cycle investment needed to be made outside of Oxford City. · The new rent-a-bike scheme in the city would provide a cheap, flexible way of getting around Oxford City. · Mr. Kraft explained that there was no single strategic document written specifically for cycling, as had originally been envisaged, as much of these projects could no longer be funded and thus a document was redundant. Cycling strategy from the original LTP remained useful guidance. · Mr. Mann explained that his preferred approach to managing team responsibilities was to have all Transport Planners thinking about cycling, rather than leaving it to a single officer. He suggested that partners contact the Transport Planning Team in the first instance. · Mr. Mann hoped that in 2009 the Transport team would have the resources to begin using Section 106 Development funding for Cycle schemes. Funds were still being used for cycling projects, for example the London Road Project, Headington, but they were not badged solely as cycling projects. · Mr. Mann confirmed that Development Control staff also consider sustainability when examining new developments.
The Chairman thanked all participants for their contribution and concluded the meeting.
................................................................................... in the Chair
Date of signing.................................................................. 2008
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