Agenda item

Mr Gilham (Friends of the Earth) addressed the Committee and in summary raised the following matters:

Referred to the council’s declaration of climate emergency which had acknowledged the contribution of road transport as the most important contributor to carbon emissions across the whole district and was the least well performing sector in making reductions. There was nothing in the report that addressed this and there was a need for a system approach against this objective with associated timescales.

Phil Gagg, WinACC Transport and Planning Action Group addressed the Committee and in summary raised the following matters:

Also expressed disappointment in the report which should have explored all options to help deliver what was required regarding reducing carbon emissions, such as improvements to schemes to reduce traffic.

Councillor Tod outlined the current activities being undertaken, including the council’s work in partnership with the county council as the lead a Highway Authority.  LTP4 (Local Transport Plan 4) was at the heart of this work and had specific regard to reducing carbon emissions.   The Movement Strategy was initially focussed on air quality but now had its focus on carbon emissions and he reported on work (with Solent Transport) to achieve improvements to and promotion of public transport services into Winchester. 

The Head of Programme introduced the report and in summary, advised that some detailed designs were already being worked up as part of the Movement Strategy for implementation and there would be significant engagement which would help achieve additional government support funding.  Councillor Tod gave further information regarding available funding to support priority projects which would also be supported at the local level. 

Mr Hobbs from Hampshire County Council gave a detailed presentation (available on the council’s website) regarding the county council’s approach to reducing carbon emissions as part of LTP4. It was recognised that there was much work to be done, which included a need for rapid, local action and the county council’s need to work closely with each of its 11 district and borough partners. 

Members asked a range of questions on the presentation which were responded to by Mr Hobbs, and officers present.  The questions asked included topics as summarised below. 

·         regarding encouraging people to work at home and how this may impact on increased heating of homes (as opposed to a larger office spaces).

·          a carbon footprint report for the city council (year commencing April 2020 – March 2021) would show the relative impact on the council’s own carbon footprint from greater remote working of staff.

·         the impact of travel into and out of Winchester to work and how there would be some offset of carbon emissions from more home working. 

·         the monitoring of the impacts from changes to roads in Winchester during the pandemic at North Walls and Hyde Street and the ‘squaring’ of LTP4 with the expansion of Southampton International Airport and projects to upgrade to smart motorway status the M3 and M27.

The committee then proceeded to ask a range of questions on the content of the report which were responded to be Councillor Tod and officers present. The questions asked included topics as summarised below.

·         a need for a ‘freight management strategy’ which should have regard to the important role of HGV drivers.

·         if projections regarding electric vehicles and charge points were realistic.

·         measuring the carbon impact of the various interventions highlighted in the report and how this would be drawn out and reported and whether the council should learn from the county council regarding its own carbon plan  - make work complimentary.

·         could the council insist that all new development incorporate electric charging points as part of the local plan process.

·         were there any other schemes in addition to that of The Square which had both economic and carbon reduction benefits.

·         how to ‘bridge the gap’ between the city and county councils’ respective targets of 2030 and 2050.

·         any future changes to car park usage, local walking and cycle infrastructure plans and that these will not be disadvantaged by any larger transport improvements noting their wider non carbon related benefits.

At conclusion of debate, the Chairperson agreed that there was a need for cross party collaboration and agreement for projects where their intent was for carbon reduction.  The committee welcomed the recruitment of additional officer

resource and acknowledged the work to date undertaken on the Movement Strategy.  The committee requested development of matrix/KPIs once related policies have been developed as part of the formulation of LTP4 in conjunction with the County Council to so assist with monitoring delivery. Finally, it was also noted that there was currently a mismatch between the declaration of the climate emergency and dates of decarbonisation projects between the County Council and the City Council, agreed to date.

RESOLVED:

That the committee:

1.    notes the progress made to date as set out in paragraphs 2.1 – 2.11of the report; and 

2.    the intention to recruit a sustainable transport post, to be funded from the CNAP budget:

3.    Provides the following comments to the cabinet member:

Implement matrix and KPIs to help monitor progress  once related policies have been developed as part of the formulation of LTP4 in conjunction with the County Council