Decision details

The original ambition was to deliver the Portway P&R bus access / egress as part of the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme as a third phase of the Portway Park and Ride expansion work, along with the new rail station access and the expansion of the Portway P&R car park, however it was not possible to deliver the bus access in the TCF timeframe. Consequently, the work package was picked up as part of the Portway Strategic Corridor under the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) programme.

There are two main reasons necessitating the change these are

1.This Portway Park & Ride bus access/egress package of works has the potential to be deliverable much sooner than the measures in the wider A4 Portway Strategic Corridor project and deliver outcomes / benefits that meet the objectives for CRSTS.

2.There is a time pressure to deliver this element on an accelerated timeline based on the agreed transport mitigations for the YTL Arena. YTL are planning on running event buses from the Portway Park and Ride site along the M5 to the Arena at the Brabazon Hangar. The agreement with YTL states that all travel mitigations will be in place prior to the Arena opening at the end of 2024. If left included as part of the strategic corridor Outline Business Case (OBC), it is unlikely that the new bus access / egress would be delivered in time for this deadline.

Approval of the change in scope to progress Portway P&R bus access improvement work package as separate Full Business Case to be completed by n May 2023 with additional funding of £170,393 through CRSTS

Approval of the change in programme for the A4 Portway Strategic Corridor Outline Business Case to be completed by October 2023 with additional funding of £458,986 

The original ambition was to deliver the Portway P&R bus access / egress as part of the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme as a third phase of the Portway Park and Ride expansion work, along with the new rail station access and the expansion of the Portway P&R car park, however it was not possible to deliver the bus access in the TCF timeframe. Consequently, the work package was picked up as part of the Portway Strategic Corridor under the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) programme.

There are two main reasons necessitating the change these are

1.This Portway Park & Ride bus access/egress package of works has the potential to be deliverable much sooner than the measures in the wider A4 Portway Strategic Corridor project and deliver outcomes / benefits that meet the objectives for CRSTS.

2.There is a time pressure to deliver this element on an accelerated timeline based on the agreed transport mitigations for the YTL Arena. YTL are planning on running event buses from the Portway Park and Ride site along the M5 to the Arena at the Brabazon Hangar. The agreement with YTL states that all travel mitigations will be in place prior to the Arena opening at the end of 2024. If left included as part of the strategic corridor Outline Business Case (OBC), it is unlikely that the new bus access / egress would be delivered in time for this deadline.

An alternative option considered was to allow Portway P&R bus access / egress to be delivered at a later date, as part of the overall Portway project. However, this option does not meet the agreed transport mitigations for the YTL Arena