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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 5, Guildhall, Swansea. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services - 636923 

Items
No. Item

19.

Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interest.

Minutes:

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adoptd by the City and County of Swansea, no interests were declared.

20.

Minutes: pdf icon PDF 111 KB

To approve and sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

 

Minutes:

Resolved that the Minutes of the Economy and Infrastructure Policy Delivery Committee held on 19 July, 2018, be approved as a correct record.

21.

Green Fleet.

Minutes:

The Director of Place referred to the update he provided to Members in June 2018 and detailed the key issues of the draft policy which included:

 

·       Determining the hierarchy of vehicles (developing a criteria /matrix e.g., lowest omission vehicles balanced against costs and practicality).  Ensuring the Policy was ‘live’ in order to accommodate changing technological advances. 

·       Creation of a baseline for the fleet which included numbers and total omission of entire fleet with the aim of a 10-20% reduction.

·       Adopting a corporate approach to the acquisition of all Council vehicles with procurement the sole responsibility of the fleet manager.

·       Introduction of monitoring arrangements to ensure Members can hold Officers to account.

·       Determination of the inclusion of ‘grey’ fleet (leased vehicles) and the impact on cost effective procurement.

·       Employees Terms and Conditions may need modification in order to encourage behaviour change by paying a hire rate of expenses for employees using electric as opposed to diesel vehicles.

·       Financial considerations would need to be within budgets available unless Cabinet/Council determined otherwise.

 

The Director of Place referred to various trials in existence in Wales, which had been successful in receiving grant funding.  Members noted that the Innovation Officers within the Welsh Government had set aside £2m for vehicle changes.

 

In response to Member questions, the Director of Place stated that:

 

·       Work was being undertaken to expand the availability of charging points to members of the public via the use of dedicated parking spaces.

·       There was a potential for the installation of solar panels on Council premises, however, challenges exist with battery storage.  Under the Council initiative of ‘Homes as Power Stations’ options were being considered.  It was anticipated that over time the cost of solar panels would reduce in order for their installation of Council premises to be a viable option.

·       The current recharge time for electric vehicles is 4 hours, the aim being to reduce this to 20 minutes.

·       The over-riding ambition would be to ensure the Policy was flexible to allow for technological advances.

·       There is a robust ‘Home to Work Policy’ for Council vehicles used by employees.

·       Not underestimating the importance of the Clean Air Policy and the need for this to be integrated into the Green Fleet Policy, there is a timing issue.  The Clean Air Policy links with the Transportation Policy and will take longer to develop.  It is anticipated that the Green Fleet Policy can be developed by the end of 2018.

·       Approximately 240 vehicles were replaced in the last 9 months.  APSE (Association of Public Sector Excellence) will be undertaking a review as part of the commissioning process on the Council’s fleet.  The aim would be to reduce the contract term for leased vehicles to a 2-3 year term which would be cost effective for the Council.  However, it was anticipated that this would take 4-5 years for the fleet to work through the system.  Therefore, a staggered approach would be the best way forward.

·       Trackers are installed on most vehicles and a robust reviewing system is operational.

 

The Chair thanked the Director of Place for his informative report.

 

Resolved that:

 

·       The draft Green Fleet Policy be considered at the meetings scheduled for September and October.

·       The Director of Place email Members directly with updates and details of numbers of green cars prior to the meeting.

 

 

22.

Transportation Strategy.

Minutes:

The Director of Place stated that the Council was seeking to adopt a regional approach in terms of the Transportation Strategy.  The Local Transport Plan expires in 2020.  The Welsh Government have provided a grant to begin the process and work is ongoing on the draft strategy.  The Welsh Government have made £700k available for the next phase which encompasses the commissioning of a designated individual who will lead on the Regional Transportation Policy.

 

South West Wales Metro covers bordering local authorities and deals with opportunities for investment over the next 50 years.  It fits into the City Deal and looks short, medium and long term.  Research is being undertaken to ascertain travelling trends and how local transport meets demand.  There are logical  locations for local and regional hubs which include train/bus and where these are aligned to other regions’ needs. 

 

A second piece of work had been commissioned by the Welsh Government on the strategic rail network which would be undertaken by Professor Barry, Cardiff University. 

 

The Director of Place stated that some of the projects were associated with the City Deal, others aligned to boundary.  Carmarthenshire Council co-ordinate the joint committee on behalf of the region and it was anticipated that should the Committee wish to speak to Carmarthen Council Officers, there would be no problem.

 

The Director of Place reported that the Active Travel Scheme was integral to developing provision for cyclists.

23.

Workplan 2017/2018. pdf icon PDF 92 KB

Minutes:

Resolved that the revisions to the work plan 2018 – 2019 be agreed as follows:

 

20/09/18

 

1.     Wind Street Pedestriansiation – Feedback from Consultation on 14/09/18.

2.     Feedback from site visit to River Corridor.

3.     Green Fleet.

18/10/18

1.     Green Fleet.

2.     Co-operative Housing

15/11/18

1.     Homes as Power Stations (Cabinet Member for Homes and Energy to attend).