Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Meeting room 1P 09, City Hall, Bristol CC Offices, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR

Contact: Democratic Services 

Items
No. Item

1.

Evacuation Procedure

Please note: if the alarm sounds during the meeting, everyone should

please exit the building via the way they came in, via the main entrance

lobby area, and then the front ramp. Please then assemble on the paved

area between the side entrance of the cathedral and the roundabout at

the Deanery Road end of the building.  Please do not return to the building until instructed to do so by the fire warden(s).

Minutes:

The evacuation procedure was set out.

2.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Geoff Gollop and Cllr Carole Johnson.

3.

Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011

Members who consider that they have an interest to declare are asked to: a) State the item number in which they have an interest, b) The nature of the interest, c) Whether the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, non-disclosable pecuniary interest or non-pecuniary interest. Any Member who is unsure about the above should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting in order to expedite matters at the meeting itself.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

4.

Minutes of previous meeting pdf icon PDF 126 KB

To consider and approve the minutes of the West of England Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 19 September 2018 as a correct record.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair, subject to a correction on item 11 when Cllr Liz Richardson had asked whether the growth figure ought to be recalculated, not that it should be recalculated.

5.

Items from the public (petitions, statements and questions) pdf icon PDF 3 MB

If you wish to present a petition or make a statement at this meeting, you are required to submit this by 12 noon on the working day before the meeting by e-mail to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

 

For this meeting, this means that your petition/statement must be received in this office by 12 noon on Tuesday 27 November 2018.

 

If you wish to ask a question at the meeting, you are required to submit the question in writing to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk by no later than 3 working daysbefore the meeting. For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must bereceived in this office by the end of Thursday 22 November 2018.

 

In presenting any statements at the meeting, members of the public are generally permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each. The total time available for this session is 30 minutes so at the discretion of the Chair, speaking time may sometimes be reduced depending on how many public items are received. Please note that all public items will be circulated in advance of the meeting to the committee members.

 

 

Minutes:

The following items were submitted:

 

Statements:

 

  1. David Redgewell, on behalf of RailFuture Severnside
  2. Martin Gosney on the subject of Metrobus
  3. Christina Biggs, Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways

 

The statements were published on the Authority’s website following the meeting.

 

Further to the public statements the Chair stated that he would investigate the current status of the Public Transport Forum and report to Members of the Committee in due course.

6.

Chair's announcements/business (10 mins)

Minutes:

The Chair raised the following items:

 

·         Following the aspiration made by Bristol City Council to be ‘carbon neutral’ by the year 2030, the Chair stated that the only way this could be achieved is with the involvement and support of the other Combined Authority’s constituent authorities and WECA itself as an organisation.  The Chair stated therefore that he would request whether the Combined Authority could do anything to assist in this coordination and would report back accordingly. 

7.

Review of WECA Committee and Joint Committee Forward Plan (20 mins) pdf icon PDF 272 KB

To review the current WECA Committee and Joint Committee forward plans (as published) and to identify items to be included in the WECA Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s forward agenda plan.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee looked at the Forward Plan of decisions that were planned to be taken by the West of England Combined Authority and West of England Joint Committee in the period to May 2019.  The Overview and Scrutiny Committee were asked in particular to consider whether they wanted to bring any particular item forward to one of their future meetings for pre-scrutiny and greater detailed discussion.

 

The following comments were raised:

 

  • Cllr Tim Ball asked that an item on air pollution be brought to a future meeting.  However, other Committee members felt that the issues would be better discussed at an individual authority level, as the time available to hold Overview and Scrutiny meetings was limited and it was important to pick ‘big-ticket’ items for detailed discussion.  A factual update would be brought to the next informal Scrutiny Meeting for discussion.  North Somerset members were welcomed to join as observers for the item;
  • In respect of item 6 on the Forward Plan it was reported that the Mayor would present his budget proposals on 18 January 2019.  It was therefore asked whether Members wished that their next meeting which was currently planned for 23 January 2019 be moved to an earlier date so that pre-scrutiny of this item could be made.  However, due to the difficulty of aligning Members timetables/diaries it was decided that the original date would be kept.

8.

Pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the 30 November WECA Committee and Joint Committee (30 mins) pdf icon PDF 226 KB

To review the reports due to be considered at the 30 November WECA Committee and Joint Committee and formulate any Overview & Scrutiny Committee comments to be referred to the respective 30 November meetings.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Discussion of this item was held at the end of the meeting as the last item.

 

Scrutiny Members were asked to comment on the reports which were to be considered at the West of England Combined Authority Committee and Joint Committee.  These responses were collated and summarised in a document that was circulated in advance to those two meetings.  The committee noted the recent motion approved by Bristol City Council about Bristol being carbon neutral by 2030.  In light of this, the committee felt that WECA should be asked to consider what action it will be able to take to assist Bristol in meeting this target, once the proposal is confirmed by Bristol City Council’s executive.

 

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Stephen Clarke attended the meeting of the West of England Combined Authority Committee to report on the comments made.

 

Agreed: That the comments submitted by the Overview & Scrutiny meeting be passed to the WECA Committee and Joint Committee for their consideration.

9.

Transport update (30 mins) pdf icon PDF 292 KB

To update the committee on transport matters including Integrated Transport Authority powers; Key Route Network; Bus Strategy; Mass Transit proposal; Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, MetroWest Phase 1A and 1B, and to seek views and feedback from members. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received an update on progress of the Integrated Transport Authority powers; Key Route Network; Bus Strategy; Mass Transit proposal; and Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan; Members were asked to give their views and feedback on these issues. Detailed reports on the matters were being submitted to the 30 November WECA Committee.  The report also clarified the position regarding Bus Service 10 which was an issue raised by members of the Committee previously.

 

It was reported that the senior transport officers at the Combined Authority were attending a pre-arranged meeting at the Department for Transport (DfT) but all comments made would be recorded as part of the Committee’s statement to the main Committee meetings.

 

The following issues were raised:

 

  • The Chair raised the issue of franchised bus services, with the Combined Authority having the power to deal with franchised services.  However, other members stated there was a lack of other successful models, with the only authority that had gone down the franchising route was London, which heavily subsidised the services.  Greater Manchester Combined Authority area was currently investigating the possibility and the West of England could possibly use some of the conclusions drawn.  It was noted that the full report may take some time to be published;
  • Another possibility was for the Authority to investigate ‘enhanced partnerships’ which some other authorities had investigated but none had taken up.  This was a new power to authorities granted by the DfT and included some of the franchising powers.  However, it was noted that the local bus companies had been reluctant to set up new services where new housing developments had taken place, especially with the development of Metrobus.  Cllr Hockey wondered how priority could be given to bus services in these instances;
  • Cllr Ball stated that competition would be difficult as First Group dominated the local market.  Coordination was needed for services that crossed local authority boundaries.  He said unfortunately some services were being lost;
  • Cllr Allinson was concerned about the lack of a ‘safety valve’ with bus services and felt that it could be an opportunity to seek a solution, as buses were currently frequently running late;
  • Cllr Pearce stated that although there was an increase in passenger numbers and that this was good news, he wondered whether there was a natural ceiling that numbers would reach and stall or fall;
  • Cllr Weston asked whether a full breakdown of subsidised services could be provided;
  • In respect of the Key Route Network (KRN) Cllr Weston asked what coordination was happening when the KRN crossed the West of England border;
  • Cllr Richardson queried the diagram showing the Key Route Networks as a proposed new link road in the Whitchurch area was not shown.  Peter Mann explained that this was because there was no route there currently but a re-designation would occur in due course.
  • Cllr Weston also asked about the comment in paragraph 11 of the report  that the Authority had the duty to “develop policies for the promotion and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Metrobus update (20 mins) pdf icon PDF 252 KB

To provide an update on the progress of the Metrobus programme.

Peter Mann, Director of Transport, BCC and Pete Woodhouse, MetroBus Integration Manager, BCC will attend for this item

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the progress of the Metrobus programme.  Peter Mann, Director of Transport, Bristol City Council and Pete Woodhouse, MetroBus Integration Manager, Bristol City Council attended for this item.

 

It was reported that the M3 route had been the first to commence in May 2018.  The service had been free for the first two weeks and demand had continued to grow.  A Sunday service was introduced in September 2018.  A number of capacity issues had been reported which would be addressed from January 2019.

 

The M2 route started on 3 September 2018 as a replacement to the Long Ashton Park & Ride.  From 28 October 2019 the ‘Airport Flyer’ service commenced.

 

Peter explained that the Metrobus relies on off-bus ticketing.  There were problems with the server app on the day of launch which had put extra demand on the i-points.  It was reported that the i-points were now working reasonably. 

 

It was noted that the main contention had been that the Park & Ride Service from Long Ashton had previously been non-stop but now the new service was stopping and as a result took longer to reach destination. 

 

The M1 service, Cribbs Causeway to Hengrove Park, would begin on 6 January 2019 and would be operated by Bristol Community Transport with new gas-powered vehicles.  A new permanent fuelling station was expected to be completed by the end of March 2019.

 

The following points were raised:

 

  • Cllr Pearce asked whether the M2 stopping service which replaced the Park & Ride service could provide a key learning point for replacement Park & Ride services in the future.  Pete Woodhouse stated that no other commercial offer had existed for Portway and officers continued to work with First Group on traffic flows.  The Bath Road corridor was currently well served for bus services;
  • Cllr Pearce also asked about unauthorised usage of the Guided Busway.  Pete Woodhouse stated that there had not been a massive number of incidents, there was one cyclist and a taxi.  However, usual enforcement methods cannot be used as it was a private road.  The situation would continue to be monitored;
  • Cllr Davies asked whether there would be Sunday services in the run up to Christmas and stated that he felt there was a lack of signage at the change over points.  He also asked whether there were through tickets available to travel through the South Bristol area;
  • Cllr Weston asked about the point raised by Mr Gosney in his public submission as to why the full range of tickets were not available from i-points.  Pete Woodhouse stated that the full range of tickets were available when the service started, including inner and outer zones.  First Group asked these to be removed after feedback as some passengers were accidentally purchasing outer zone tickets unnecessarily.  Pete Woodhouse said he would write to Mr Gosney directly on this issue;
  • The Committee also asked for raw passenger number data.  Pete Woodhouse would circulate.  It was planned  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Update on Local Industrial Strategy (5 mins) pdf icon PDF 168 KB

To provide an update on progress on work to develop a Local Industrial Strategy for the West of England.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report providing an update on progress on work to develop a Local Industrial Strategy for the West of England, following a more detailed report that had been brought to the meeting in July 2018.

 

Cllr Morris stated that the forecast was for a smaller economy post-Brexit and 12% of employers were classed as ‘major’ employers.  However, it was important to look outside of this sector.  She asked that a steer be given by the Combined Authority as to its post-Brexit plan.

 

Cllr Pearce stated that in regards to paragraph 11, when the report stated that the project team would be very happy to hold an informal discussion of this work as it developed with members of the Committee if that would be of interest to the Committee.  He declared his interest in this happening.

 

Agreed: That an informal briefing session be held on the Local Industrial Strategy for Committee members.