Agenda item
COVID-19 ACTIVE TRAVEL PLAN SCHEMES
To receive a report by the Traffic, Parking and Road Safety
Manager (copy attached) to examine the
purpose of the Welsh Government (WG) scheme, the rationale behind the schemes
drawn up in Denbighshire to benefit from the funding, and the effectiveness of
the initial implementation of the schemes across the county.
10:45– 11:30am
Decision:
The Committee:
Resolved: - subject to
the above concerns and observations
(i)
to acknowledge the process followed by the
Council in identifying and developing projects, applying for the grant and implementing
projects, along with the difficulties encountered due to the short timescale
given by the Welsh Government;
(ii)
to emphasise the importance of early
engagement in future with local Member Area Groups (MAGs), local members, and
town/ community councils for proposed schemes to utilise central government
grant funding in specific towns or communities; and
(iii) that
a further report be presented to the Committee in six months’ time on the
impact of the COVID-19 Active Travel Plan Schemes on Denbighshire’s towns and
the lessons learnt from planning for this particular scheme in readiness for
future schemes with short application deadlines and lead-in times.
Minutes:
The Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the
Environment introduced the report (previously circulated) which outlined information on the active
travel schemes that had been implemented in some Denbighshire town centres and
which had been funded by the Welsh Government’s (WG) Covid-19 sustainable transport grant. The report also provided the
rationale behind the schemes developed and the early findings from their
implementation. The Traffic, Parking and
Road Safety Manager detailed the application process followed in order to draw
down the WG funding and the tight timescales involved with the process.
The Council’s Scrutiny Chairs and
Vice-Chairs Group (SCVCG) had asked the Committee to examine this matter
following receipt of a request from a resident in relation to the proposed
Covid-19 Active Travel Scheme for Llangollen.
SCVCG members had advised the resident that Scrutiny could not examine
matters relating to one particular scheme, but would examine the process followed
in identifying and developing schemes county-wide. In seeking Partnerships Scrutiny Committee to
examine the matter the SCVCG had extended an invitation to the WG Deputy
Minister for Economy and Transport, who had responsibility for allocating the
grant funding for the scheme, to attend the meeting to discuss the funding
application and allocation processes.
Whilst the Deputy Minister was unable to attend the meeting for the
discussion he had provided the Committee with an evidence paper on the Scheme,
which included information on the funding allocated to Denbighshire to date and
examples of the different types of schemes funded across Wales. This information had been made available to
Committee members ahead of the meeting and was available on the meeting’s
webpage on the Council’s website.
In May 2020, the Welsh Government’s Deputy
Minister for Economy and
Transport wrote to Council Leaders across
Wales inviting Councils to submit expressions of interest for a special grant
for “Local sustainable transport measures in response to Covid 19”. The rationale behind the grant was twofold:
- to build upon the increases in active travel (cycling and walking)
that had been occurring during the first lockdown period;
- to help facilitate social distancing in town centres and other busy
public areas such as routes to schools, bus stops and bus stations once
non-essential retail and schools reopened.
Upon receipt of the letter officers from the
Traffic, Parking and Road Safety Section met to develop initial ideas for
proposals that could be implemented on a trial basis of 18 months. Given the
limited time available, it was decided to concentrate on developing proposals
for the five busiest town centres namely Rhyl, Llangollen, Prestatyn, Denbigh
and Ruthin. Some additional proposals were also developed for footpaths
surrounding Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. After discussion with the Lead Member, officers
contacted the relevant Member Area Groups (MAGs) to outline the proposals
within their areas and to invite feedback.
Based on the feedback received, the proposals
for Prestatyn were abandoned. Cost estimates were provided and the expressions
of interest were then submitted to the WG on the 22nd May 2020.
Confirmation was received from the WG on the 19th June 2020 that funding had been awarded
funding for all Denbighshire’s active travel proposals except for Ysbyty Glan
Clwyd. The total value of the grant for the active travel schemes was £825k.
This timescale to deliver the schemes was challenging given
that the funding wasn’t awarded until
the 19th June 2020. Nonetheless, the expectation was
that proposals would be implemented quickly.
To assist in this secondary legislation relating to emergency Traffic
Regulation Orders (TRO) had been amended to include Covid related highway works
as a justification for making a temporary TRO.
The proposals for Denbigh generated many
negative comments on social media. After discussions between senior officers
and the Lead Member, it was decided to carry out a two-week online consultation
for each town centre scheme. It was also agreed that officers would then
present a summary of the consultation feedback for each town to the relevant
MAG, followed by the MAG making a recommendation of whether or not to proceed
with the scheme.
Robust monitoring plans are in place for each
of the town centre schemes. This will enable the impact of the proposals to be
closely monitored through the 18-month trial period.
Some minor problems have occurred following
the implementation of the schemes, which have been dealt with quickly by officers.
Such issues are not uncommon for
schemes developed during such a tight timescale such as these.
During the ensuing discussion the following
matters were raised and discussed:
·
Members
referred to proposed scheme for Llangollen and how Llangollen was different to
other towns in Denbighshire. The scheme there had been delayed due to the
consultation process. The town was busy
in August following the lifting of lockdown.
There were differing views in the town between shopkeepers, residents
and the need to keep both residents and visitors safe. However, officers and
lead members had been extremely helpful and proactive in attempting to find
workable solutions. During the lockdown the town had been much quieter than
usual. 28 traders had submitted written
objections to the scheme whilst a petition signed by more than 100 people in
support of the scheme had also been submitted. The local members were in
support for the scheme as were the older generation of Llangollen and they felt
that the Council required to work with the traders/objectors to devise a
workable solution.
·
The
scheme for Ruthin had originally been supported in 83% of those who had
responded to the consultation about the scheme. The local member on the
Committee supported the scheme to separate cars, walkers and cyclists in
Ruthin, and supported the one-way system in Ruthin. Officers had worked very
closely with local members. On paper the scheme looked attractive and the plans
were for the implementation of the scheme in August, however due to the
consultation process the scheme was delayed. There were some issues of concern,
however officers were happy to discuss the matters with local members. Local
shops were looking forward to having external furniture etc.to allow people to
use the shops and cafes. Some members were of the view that the location of
some of the bollards may need to be reviewed to ease any concerns with
deliveries etc. for some businesses
·
Officers
had to respond to the WG request for schemes for grant funding within a very
short timescale which had been further curtailed as it spanned an extended bank
holiday weekend. However, local
authorities were required to encourage active travel and with the need to make
people feel safe post COVID lockdown restrictions being lifted, this particular
grant funding had provided the Council with an opportunity to pilot a number of
schemes for the future whilst attempting to try and attract people into towns
to boost the local economy. A delicate
balance needed to be struck between losing on-street parking and the benefits
of providing a one-way traffic route to facilitate wider, safer walkways for
pedestrians.
·
Engagement
and monitoring plans were in place for each scheme and there was an 8 week cycle
of monitoring with online feedback from businesses etc. Where issues were raised these would be dealt
with quickly.
·
The
Committee was advised that the Council was required by Welsh Government to
generally encourage and promote active travel (such as walking or cycling) not
only as part of the ongoing response to the pandemic. This particular scheme was aimed at town
centres, not rural routes.
·
In
relation to the scheme for Rhyl members felt that the traffic flow in the town
centre had suffered due to the scheme. There was concern that officers may have
only discussed the proposals with member of the Rhyl Business Improvement
District (BID) and not the wider business community. Assurances were given by officers that they
discussed the proposals with a wide cross-section of the businesses in the
town. Work was now underway exploring
the whole concept of active travel in a strategic way for Rhyl for the
future. Newsletters would be circulated
to businesses in the Rhyl area to raise awareness of the proposed scheme.
·
Whilst
the grant funding was welcomed by the Council and businesses alike the
geography of the county’s historic market towns did pose difficulties in
devising and implementing workable schemes for those towns that would benefit
businesses, residents and visitors alike.
·
Members
were in agreement that all lessons learnt from this particular exercise needed
to be heeded for similar exercises in future and in order to support local
businesses post the pandemic, as business owners were concerned about what the
future would look like
Resolved: - subject to
the above concerns and observations
(i)
to acknowledge the process followed by the
Council in identifying and developing projects, applying for the grant and implementing
projects, along with the difficulties encountered due to the short timescale
given by the Welsh Government;
(ii)
to emphasise the importance of early
engagement in future with local Member Area Groups (MAGs), local members, and
town/ community councils for proposed schemes to utilise central government
grant funding in specific towns or communities; and
(iii) that
a further report be presented to the Committee in six months’ time on the
impact of the COVID-19 Active Travel Plan Schemes on Denbighshire’s towns and
the lessons learnt from planning for this particular scheme in readiness for
future schemes with short application deadlines and lead-in times.
Supporting documents:
- Covid AT Schemes Report to Partnerships Scrutiny 171220, item 6. PDF 135 KB
- Covid AT Schemes Report to Partnerships Scrutiny 171220 - Appendix A, item 6. PDF 287 KB
- Covid AT Schemes Report to Partnerships Scrutiny 171220 - Appendix B Llangollen, item 6. PDF 616 KB
- Covid AT Schemes Report to Partnerships Scrutiny 171220 - Appendix B Llangollen Plan, item 6. PDF 362 KB
- Covid AT Schemes Report to Partnerships Scrutiny 171220 - Appendix B Rhyl, item 6. PDF 521 KB
- Covid AT Schemes Report to Partnerships Scrutiny 171220 - Appendix B Rhyl Plan, item 6. PDF 496 KB
- Covid AT Schemes Report to Partnerships Scrutiny 171220 - Appendix B Ruthin, item 6. PDF 407 KB
- Covid AT Schemes Report to Partnerships Scrutiny 171220 - Appendix B Ruthin Plan, item 6. PDF 312 KB
- Ministerial Evidence Paper Complete 171220, item 6. PDF 680 KB