Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet Member’s delegated powers.
The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.
Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.
Minutes:
Councillor John Sanders
“The Cabinet member must surely be pleased that his department is to receive £5 million from the Government for County transport schemes. What are these schemes intended to be, how much will be spent on each scheme and when will they take place?”
Reply from Councillor Rodney Rose, Cabinet Member for Transport
“I am extremely pleased that we have been successful in bidding for the first stage of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). I would also like to publicly congratulate the team for their considerable efforts in this regard.
The £5m will be invested in the schemes listed below. The exact nature and costs of the schemes, and the dates identified, are preliminary at this stage and may be subject to change, depending on feasibility, affordability and consultation.
1. The extension of Thornhill Park & Ride car park from 874 to 1380 spaces. This will receive £1.8m from the LSTF which will be added to the £2.3m which has already been allocated to the scheme from OCC capital funding and developer contributions. This work is expected to be completed by Spring 2013.
2. An outbound bus priority lane on London Road, extending the existing bus lane from Headington centre to the ring road (Green Road Roundabout) to complement the existing inbound bus lane on the route, to be used by existing services and new Park & Ride services (see below). £500,000 of LSTF funding will be allocated to this scheme in addition to another £500,000 from OCC capital funding. This scheme is expected to be delivered in 2013/14.
3. There are two proposed new Park & Ride bus services, using low carbon vehicles and operating to Premium Route frequencies and standards. The services would link Thornhill Park & Ride - John Radcliffe Hospital and Thornhill Park & Ride - Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital - Churchill Hospital - University Old Road Campus - Warneford Hospital - Oxford Brookes University Gipsy Lane Campus - city centre - Oxford railway station, with work currently taking place to look at different options and routes. Approximately £1.3m of the LSTF is being invested in setting up these new bus services including buses. Operation is expected to commence in April 2013, once the Park & Ride extension is open.
4. Provision of extensive Real Time Information for buses on the new route that serves the Churchill Hospital, to link in with the existing 'OxonTime' system (which already covers the Park & Ride site and route to the John Radcliffe Hospital). To comprise up to 8 additional real time displays, modification of bus priority technology at key junctions and provision of additional or upgraded shelters through the existing Clear Channel contract. Around £150,000 of LSTF is being allocated to the upgrade of these bus stops. The installation should be completed by September 2012.
5. Intelligent Car Park Management and Smartcard ticketing - integrating payment for parking & bus travel. This measure involves the implementation of an intelligent car park management system and smart card ticketing at Thornhill Park & Ride. The system is proposed to use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and/or smart card reader controlled barriers to enable access for frequent users, along with a standard time-charged ticket system for casual users. Approximately £220,000 of the LSTF is being allocated to this installation which should be completed by March 2012.
6. An Area-wide cycle hire pilot scheme within Headington with a hub at Thornhill Park & Ride, with additional cycle parking and measures to enhance cycle and pedestrian access to key destinations in Headington, e.g. hospitals and universities. £250,000 of the LSTF is to be invested on these initiatives of which £150,000 is for the cycle hire pilot. The cycle route improvements should be completed by the summer of 2012, while the cycle hire pilot scheme should commence operation in summer 2013.
7. Personalised travel planning, including website/information portal and customised smart phone application, with dedicated staff resources to manage the programme and engage with customers and stakeholders. Altogether around £330,000 of the LSTF is being invested in these initiatives which will commence in April 2012.
8. A comprehensive programme of collecting data, monitoring and evaluation of the key component schemes. £150,000 of the LSTF is being allocated to the task of monitoring and evaluating the key component schemes. This will be an ongoing activity which will commence in January 2014 and will continue up to March 2015.
If Cllr Sanders wishes to see a copy of the bid, this is available on the OCC website: Local Sustainable Transport Fund .”
Supplementary Question from Councillor Sanders
“Councillor Rose is always ready to blame the previous government for current problems yet he is now able to enjoy the profligacy of the present government by receiving additional funding to spend on transport measures, which I do not consider to be as essential as other county council services which are being cut. How could he justify this?”
Reply
“This supplementary question refers to decisions regarding spending issues which had to be made across a wider range of council functions and Councillor Sanders would have been better directing it to either the Cabinet or Council. However, I am directly responsible for services within my transport portfolio and for delivering those services the best way I can to the ratepayers of Oxfordshire. This successful bid for additional funding enables me to do that and I’m surprised that Councillor Sanders as a county councillor for a division within the city does not welcome this news.”