Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R V Smith and G J Tanner.

 

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, the following interest was declared:

 

Councillor V M Evans - Agenda as a whole - employed by First Great Western - personal.

 

To approve the Minutes of the Services Advisory Committee held on

9 February 2015.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Services Cabinet Advisory Committee held on 9 February 2015 be approved as a correct record.

 

Matters Arising

 

Welsh Assembly Government National Transport Plan

 

It was noted that the Welsh Assembly Government National Transport Plan advocated bus partnerships.  The consultation period would end on Wednesday, 11 March 2015 and there may well be changes going forward.  Further information was awaited from the Welsh Assembly Government.

 

The Transport Strategy Officer, supported by the Group Leader - Transportation provided the Cycle Action Plan report and a detailed and informative presentation on the Cycle Action Plan.  Details included in the presentation were as follows:

 

• Transport Policy.

 

• Cycle Action Plan.

 

• New Local Transport Plan.

 

• Changing Council Resources.

 

• Active Travel Act.

 

• Conclusion. 

 

It was explained that the Authority had prepared a Cycle Action Plan in 2012 to accompany the Regional Transport Plan 2010-2015.  The Cycle Action Plan (2012-2014) was developed in conjunction with the Cycle Forum and its successor, the Cycle Action Progress Meeting, which is a Forum of Council Officers and cycling interest groups.  The Action Plan was provided at Appendix 1.  The plan provided an additional policy commentary to that contained within the Regional Transport Plan and was developed to clarify how the Council developed and delivered walking and cycling projects.  The Cycle Action Plan was now three years old and members of the Cycle Action Progress Group had asked for it to be refreshed to bring it up to date and to align it with the Local Transport Plan (2015-2020), the successor to the Regional Transport Plan. 

 

It was added that the Cycle Action Plan had two programme elements.  One was aimed at reducing the barriers to cycling by improving the opportunity and accessibility to the existing infrastructures (behavioural change).  The other was focused wholly upon the provision of new infrastructure and routes. 

 

The Local Transport Plan 2015-2020 was adopted by Council on 24 February 2015.  The Joint Plan provided the overarching transport strategy and policy for South West Wales having been adopted by Carmarthenshire County Council, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Pembrokeshire County Council and the City and County of Swansea.  The plan included individual programmes for each of the Council areas and this was included at Appendix 2.

 

It was highlighted that the Council was experiencing a period of unprecedented budget cuts and this had a number of direct implications upon the Council’s ability to service and develop a refreshed Cycle Action Plan.  The Council funding for cycle route maintenance in 2014/15 was £21.5K revenue and £30K in capital funds.  These funds provided the means to maintain the existing assets and were not sufficient for the delivery of any new promotional materials or infrastructure.  It was added that the Council’s Walking and Cycling Officer retired in 2014 and had not been replaced as part of the budget savings programme.  The delivery of walking and cycling schemes was now managed primarily by the Transport Strategy Officer. 

 

The Committee asked a number of questions of the Officers in relation to the presentation which were responded to accordingly.  Discussions centred around the following:-

 

·         Improving cycling access to the Liberty Stadium, particularly during games;

 

·         Improvement to the cycling network infrastructure, particularly in the immediate vicinity of the Liberty Stadium;

 

·         Linking cycling and walking into the Landore Park and Ride scheme;

 

·         The need to further consult with National Resources Wales and local groups regarding improvements to cycling and walking networks around Kilvey Hill and the River Tawe riverbank areas;

 

·         The need to encourage and make it easier for more people to cycle to work and to use cycling as one of their main forms of transport, particularly in the City Centre;

 

·         The need to improve locations in Swansea for tourism and to build cycling and walking into this provision;

 

·         The Cycle To Work scheme being reintroduced by the Authority, which will run for the next 18 months;

 

·         The need to further encourage cycling and walking along safe routes to schools;

 

·         The need to find additional resources in order to improve the cycling and walking infrastructure around the Authority.

 

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted.

 

The Chair presented an updated Work Programme 2014/15 for information.

 

·         13 April 2015

 

NOTED that the next meeting be scheduled for 2.00 p.m. on Monday, 13 April 2015.