Agenda item

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

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. 

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.