To receive and note questions asked and statements made from members of the public on matters which fall within the remit of the Committee.
NB members of the
public are required to register with Democratic
Services
three clear working days before the meeting
(contact: democracy@winchester.gov.uk or 01962 848 264).
Minutes:
Chris Gillham (on behalf of Winchester Friends of the Earth), addressed the committee regarding agenda items 7 (Winchester Movement Strategy) and item 10 (AQMA Annual Update). Phil Gagg (on behalf of WinACC), John Beveridge (on behalf of the City of Winchester Trust) and Councillor Horrill addressed the committee regarding agenda item 7 (Winchester Movement Strategy) and Phil Joyce (on behalf of Extinction Rebellion) addressed the committee regarding item 8 (Petition – Winchester Extinction Rebellion). A summary of their comments are set out as follows:
In summary, Chris Gillham stated that the Winchester Friends of the Earth appreciated the efforts given to the Movement and Access Strategy. However concerns were raised in respect of the rationale for priority three and questioned why reference the declaration of climate emergency had been omitted. , with no clear purpose relatable to the vision and priorities. . In respect of agenda item 10, Mr Gillham stated that due to the significant health consequences of air pollution, they were concerned to see the proposals to reduce the area of the Air Quality Management Area and considered that this proposal sent out the wrong message.
In summary, Phil Gagg stated that the work carried out to date on the Movement Strategy was welcomed. However, due to transport resulting in under 60% of the districts emissions, WinAcc considered that the Strategy needed to align more closely with the Carbon Neutrality Action Plan (CNAP) to enable to Strategy to bring about a carbon reduction equal to 60% of the district’s carbon emissions by 2030, with more work required to demonstrate how the Strategy would deliver its share of the CNAP. Mr Gagg made reference to the need to quantify co2 reduction targets, detail of the concentration of traffic reduction encouraging modal transfer to walking and cycling, which he stated was strongly supported by the public. He concluded that a robust carbon reduction framework was crucial to achieving targets.
In summary, John Beveridge stated that it was important to ensure that maximum consensus regarding traffic reduction in Winchester was achieved. Traffic changes should be experimented in the first instance. Other areas (such as Durham & York) that had successfully introduced low car zones, could be considered as an example.
In summary, Councillor Horrill stated that she agreed with the various points raised by the public speakers and that this initiative was hugely important for the district. The level of cooperation between the Council and Hampshire County Council was important and the clear way forward given the County Council’s responsibility for Highways. Fundamental to the report was the need to remove traffic from the town centre to allow more of the important initiatives to take place successfully and to provide more safe space for pedestrians and cyclists. It was recognised that Park and Ride was very significant to this and that progress in this respect within the report still appeared to remain slow. It was noted that the Vaultex site was providing additional provision, but that further changes were necessary to Park and Ride services in order to fully deliver pedestrian and cycling access. Councillor Horrill stated that the Scrutiny Committee had requested data collected by officers in developing the next phase of the Movement Strategy but that this had not yet been made available.
In conclusion, Councillor Horrill asked if the Chairperson would be able to facilitate the availability of this data to ensure all Members and interested parties were kept informed of future phase progress.
In summary, Phil Joyce stated that he welcomed the work already carried out to social distancing following the submission of the petition by Extinction Rebellion Winchester earlier in the year, but considered that further progress on traffic reduction was essential with simple measures that could be implemented to achieve much at low cost, with interventions such as bus gates and inner city car park closures being critical to reducing traffic volumes. Mr Joyce made reference to the outcomes of the ‘Winchester Thinking Ahead’ conference in 2016, the five polls carried out by WinACC and the nationwide survey by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2020, which all consistently found that tackling traffic congestion in town centres was a priority for people by restricting vehicle access and creating more ‘car free’ pedestrian areas.
The Chairperson thanked those who addressed the committee for their contribution. Councillor Tod provided a full response to the comments made.