Agenda for Joint Committee on Strategic Planning and Transport on Friday, 11th June, 2021, 10.30 am

Agenda and minutes

Venue: LB 41 - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG. View directions

Contact: Phil Wye  0115 8764637

Items
No. Item

1.

Membership

Minutes:

The Committee noted that Councillor Rosemary Healy has replaced Councillor Adele Williams as a member of the Committee.

 

2.

Appointment of Vice-Chair

Minutes:

Resolved to appoint Councillor John Ogle as Vice-Chair of  this Committee for this municipal year (May 2021 to April 2022)

 

The Chair thanked the previous Vice-Chair, Councillor Gordon Wheeler.

3.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Councillor Sally Longford – on leave

4.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

None.

5.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 218 KB

Minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2021, for confirmation

Minutes:

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2021 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

6.

East Midlands Railways

Presentation by Andrew Commons, Head of External Relations, EMR

Minutes:

Andy Commons, Head of External Relations, East Midlands Railways (EMR), gave a presentation and highlighted the following points:

 

(a)  EMR was formed in August 2019, with franchise awarded to Abellio for 8 years. It runs three service groups of trains in the East Midlands and beyond: EMR Intercity, EMR Regional and EMR Connect. Last month saw a large timetable change to these services;

(b)  in March 2020 the franchise agreement with Abellio was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it was placed on an Emergency Measures Agreement for 6 months, followed by an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement for 18 months which is still in place. All costs of running the services are now borne by the treasury;

(c)  service use has increased recently from the height of the pandemic, but us still at a maximum of 40-50%. Usage is increasingly driven by leisure usage rather than commuting, with weekend travel more popular;

(d)  passenger priorities have changed during the pandemic, with cleanliness now being the number one priority and overcrowding less of a concern. EMR passengers are 90% satisfied with cleanliness;

(e)  Great British Railways’ (GBR’s) establishment was announced following the Williams Review. From 2023 GBR will integrate all railways, own the infrastructure, run and plan the network, and set fares and timetables;

(f)  the recent timetable change has resulted in peak time journey improvements to London St Pancras of 10 minutes, along with earlier and later trains at the start and end of the day. It has also introduced a new direct train between Crewe and Stoke on Trent, a direct train to Grimsby, and additional trains to Sheffield, Derby and Skegness;

(g)  EMR’s future plans include the split of the Liverpool to Norwich service at Nottingham, and the continuing replacement of the regional fleet. In 2023, new Aurora trains will come into service on the intercity route, which are a bespoke design bi-mode train by Hitachi.

 

The following points were raised during the discussion which followed:

 

(h)  there used to be a group looking into the feasibility for more commuter stations in Nottingham, such as at Faraday Road near Jubilee Campus and it would be beneficial to start these discussions again. The development of the railway network falls with the Department for Transport and GBR, but the local authorities could collaborate with EMR on developing a case;

(i)  the Aurora trains will be catered and will be fully disability compliant. They will also have comfortable seats following research and testing with the public;

(j)  flexible season tickets will soon be introduced nationally, allowing 8 days of travel within a 28 day period;

(k)  EMR staff are not able to enforce the wearing of face coverings and social distancing but can contact a member of the British Transport Police.

7.

Greater Nottingham Joint Planning Advisory Board Update pdf icon PDF 390 KB

Report of the Joint Officer Steering Group

Minutes:

Matt Gregory, Head of Planning Strategy and Building Control, presented the report, which includes the minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2020.

 

The Draft Greater Nottingham 2028 Vision Statement which was discussed at the March meeting was also attached. Following a question from a Councillor it was confirmed that the Strategic Plan must have an accompanying infrastructure delivery plan that will set out the requirements for additional infrastructure around any new housing developments.

 

Councillors also noted the rapid growth of housing in the city centre and commented that must be kept under observation. 

 

Resolved to note the contents of this report

8.

Nottinghamshire Minerals and Nottinghamshire & Nottingham Joint Waste Local Plans updates pdf icon PDF 127 KB

Report of Joint Officer Steering Group

Minutes:

Stephen Pointer, Team Manager Planning Policy, introduced the report informing the Committee of progress with preparing the Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan and the Nottinghamshire and Nottingham Waste Local Plan.

 

The Minerals Local Plan has now been adopted following receipt of the Inspector’s Report and is published on the County Council’s website.

 

Work is now progressing on a Draft Waste Plan to be reported to the two Councils in October 2021. As part of the Plan, a Waste Needs Assessment is being prepared by AECOM. Mike Bains from AECOM gave a presentation to the Committee and highlighted the following:

 

(a)  the Waste Needs Assessment identifies the capacity that will ne required to manage the region’s waste. This is based on current waste arisings, expected future changes, and recycling and recovery;

(b)  industrial waste, construction and demolition waste, and hazardous waste are all factored into the Assessment. This waste may increase as more house are built in the region;

(c)  it is expected that recycling and recovery will increase, with a government target of 65% by 2035. Higher levels of construction waste are already recycled that household waste;

(d)  Nottinghamshire has a slight surplus capacity for recycled waste but will face a shortfall for landfill by 2038 of around 3.5 million tonnes.

 

The following points were raised during the discussion which followed:

 

(e)  more opportunities could be taken to use technology for further recycling, such as extract minerals from waste or using glass for road surfacing;

(f)  Councillors often hear reports of small businesses struggling to recycle their waste as it is too expensive, or facilities won’t take it. Facilities are available and could be better advertised.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  note the contents of the report;

(2)  ask an appropriate person to give a presentation at a future meeting on waste recovery technology.

9.

Transport update pdf icon PDF 302 KB

Minutes:

James Ashton, Transport Strategy Manager, introduced the report providing an update on the transport related issues across the Greater Nottingham conurbation and highlighted the following:

 

(a)  introduction of a 20mph zone in the city centre is currently under consultation. The scheme has been redesigned following objections from the police and bus operators;

(b)  the City Council has been monitoring the transport network to understand the effects of the restrictions on travel brought in to control the Covid-19 outbreak. Car traffic levels are now at 90% of normal levels but bus and tram travel is still at only 25%. Cycling has increased significantly;

(c)  the Active Travel Fund continues to support making cycling and walking realistic alternatives to car travel, through support for businesses, support for communities and support for schools;

(d)  the Bus Partnership Advanced Quality Partnership Scheme is now in place which requires all bus operators to use Euro VI or higher quality vehicles at all city centre bus stops, in order to reduce harmful emissions;

(e)  both the City and Council councils are actively investigating bidding opportunities through the governments levelling up fund.

 

The following points were raised during the discussion which followed:

 

(f)  high design standards required for dedicated cycle routes have made some of them unfeasible without additional funding;

(g)  e-scooters have been extremely popular in the city since their introduction, and the number of complaints has begun to reduce as users are becoming more familiar with the rules.

 

Resolved to note the contents of the report.

10.

Joint Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 124 KB

Report of the Joint Officer Steering Group

Minutes:

Matt Gregory, Head of Planning Strategy and Building Control, introduced the report outlining the Committee’s work programme from June 2021 to September 2021.

 

An update on progress with HS2 is planned for discussion at the next meeting, but this may be postponed if the Integrated Rail Plan has not been published.

 

Resolved to note the Joint Committee’s work programme and give consideration to any future items.

11.

Future dates

To meet at 10.30pm on the following Fridays during 2021/22 municipal year:

 

2021    2022

10 September  11 March

10 December

Minutes:

The Committee agreed to meet on the following Fridays during the 2021/22 municipal year:

 

10 September 2021

10 December 2021

11 March 2022