Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Environment

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/138

Contact: James Gagg, Infrastructure Strategy Team Leader (Interim) Tel: 07776 997303/Joseph Kay, Strategic Transport Lead Tel: 07827 979234

Report by Director of Planning & Place (CA9).

The report updates Cabinet on development of the new Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan- called the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan. Specifically, it outlines the context and key points included in a proposed Vision Document (Annex 1), on which it is proposed to undertake public consultation. It also includes a summary of the engagement exercise undertaken in Spring 2020 (Annex 2), and a summary of key evidence that has been reviewed to support development of the Vision. (Annex 3) The Cabinet are asked to endorse these 3 documents as basis for public consultation commencing in February 2021.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)              note progress on the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan and the timetable leading to Plan adoption set out in Annex 1;

(b)              endorse the content of the Vision Document in Annex 1, and the supporting engagement summary and baseline evidence base documents in Annex 2 and 3 as the basis for public consultation, commencing in February 2021 for a period of 6 weeks; and

(c)              delegate the decision on the graphical format of the final Vision Document to the Corporate Director for Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport.

Cabinet had before it a report which updated Members on development of the new Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan - called the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan. The report outlined the context and key points included in a proposed Vision Document (Annex 1), on which it was proposed to undertake public consultation. It further included a summary of the engagement exercise undertaken in Spring 2020 (Annex 2), and a summary of key evidence that had been reviewed to support development of the Vision (Annex 3).  The Cabinet were asked to endorse the 3 documents as basis for public consultation commencing in February 2021.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Chairman of the Performance Scrutiny Committee highlighted the issues raised by the Committee.  The Committee felt that the reduction of inequalities needed to be more strongly reflected, and that the public health team should be engaged in LTCP development to ensure it was in line with the Director for Public Health’s emphasis on reducing inequalities.  For example, a person’s employment prospects might be seriously limited by poor public transport connections where they live.

In relation to Consultation, the Committee questioned how the consultation was going to work if Covid restrictions remained in place for a long period. The Committee felt that there was a need for an equality impact assessment on the consultation itself to ensure that it reached all communities and questioned whether the consultation would include AONBs.

In relation to public transport, the Committee noted that there were specific challenges in rural areas, including connectivity into and between main towns.  Nearly all the money for buses seemed to be going to Oxford or for services to and from Oxford.There was support for develop delivery hubs to reduce the number of large lorries in built-up areas.

The Committee felt that congestion on the Oxford Ring-Road needed to be tackled and it was noted that much of the congestion took place in areas experiencing deprivation. Concern was expressed about HGV rat running and the need for more access control. There was also concern about tree removal by the A40 when more need trees were needed by main roads to assist in air quality.

In relation to electric vehicles, the Committee noted that there was also the challenge of electric vehicle ‘switch’ and the need to provide for this in terms of charging points for those who do not have a garage or driveway. Concern was also expressed that school transport would be the last to get electric buses given that they always seem to have the oldest vehicles.

On planning, the Committee noted that there was an issue with out of town retail undermining local connectivity and disadvantaging people. They sought assurance that there would be connectivity improvements to those new locations.

The Committee questioned how it could be ensured that existing new development proposals reflected new policy priorities.  Development needed to have more mixed use and to move away from large housing-only estates.  Look more at place shaping, including better designed streets.

The Committee also questioned whether there was a funding strategy in place for all the plans or whether they would end up being delayed due to lack of funding.

Councillor John Sanders, Cabinet Shadow Member for Environment spoke in relation to the context diagram on page 113 of the Vision Statement.  He raised concern about securing ‘buy in’ from other than the usual interest groups on such a key priority for the County.  He asked how the Cabinet were going to approach and interest a wider public on the issues.  He believed that providing a short vision proposal with cross references to lengthy online documents could be daunting to any member of the public.

He further expressed concern about the lack of space given to ICT connectivity, given that it was called the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, but that most of it was LTP5.  There was some reference to Broadband in the document, but the Government target of full fibre, together with 5G by 2025 was for the whole Country, and there seemed to be little else that the Council were considering in addition.  He would like to see Business ICT support and advice for small businesses, enabling business to relocate out of the city and town centres, to take advantage of ICT connectivity and for educational use of ICT to be explored, including further education application and support.

Councillor Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment thanked Councillor Brighouse and Sanders for their comments.  She emphasised that the vision statement had been prepared for consultation and that all comments would be built into the new document.  Officers had given her an assurance that the would be an opportunity to strengthen the points made in the document before it went out for consultation, which would not be until February.  She agreed that being more descriptive and definitive on the issues around the ambitions for broadband would strengthen the document considerably and undertook to liaise with Councillor Corkin to achieve it.

She welcomed the comments from the Performance Scrutiny Committee around equality.  There was a section of depravation, but she undertook to add to the section to demonstrate that transport could offer a way out or lesson did inequality.  She would also strengthen rural connectivity, particularly by cycle which was a central part of the consultation and strategy.

She introduced the report and commended the report to the Cabinet.

Councillor Corkin agreed with the comments by Councillor Sanders that Connectivity did not appear in detail in the consultation document at the moment, but this did not mean that they were not actively pursuing a vigorous second programme.  Having closed out the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire earlier in the year, they were now actively engaged in ensuring that they reached out with full fibre to those that were still hard to reach; to businesses in rural Oxfordshire; in working with the Commercial sector in deliver.  They were also actively pursuing DCMS for funding to build a spine of full fibre public sector buildings, off the back of which they would be able to bring on lots of other premises.  They were a partner organisation with the department of digital culture, media and sport for the development of the implementation of the outside in programme (which was the gigabit) and they were totally engaged and at the forefront of it. He wanted world class digital infrastructure which meant digital 5G for the County and undertook to project that message in the Consultation.

Councillor Bartholomew expressed his thanks to Councillor Constance for the consideration of motorcycles which had in the past had been seen as a nuisance and dangerous to other road users.  Motorcycles were in fact, when driven properly, not only low polluters,  but were a very efficient way of utilising road space.  It was a small minority who gave motorcycles a bad name and there was a strong way forward of connectivity in this area, particularly as electric motorbikes were becoming better developed and more advanced.

Mr John Disley endorsed the comments made by Councillor Corkin and undertook to ensure that the document would cross reference the Council’s Digital Infrastructure Strategy which in turn would need to be updated to reflect the statement.

Councillor Constance in moving the recommendations, proposed an amendment to recommendation (c) to allow officers to make changes to the document after the cabinet meeting and before going out to consultation as follows:

(c)    to delegate the decision on the final version of the Vision Document, including graphical format to the Corporate Director for Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport.

RESLOVED: to

(a)              note progress on the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan and the timetable leading to Plan adoption set out in Annex 1;

(b)              endorse the content of the Vision Document in Annex 1, and the supporting engagement summary and baseline evidence base documents in Annex 2 and 3 as the basis for public consultation, commencing in February 2021 for a period of 6 weeks; and

(c)               to delegate the decision on the final version of the Vision Document, including graphical format to the Corporate Director for Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport.