Meeting documents

To consider the attached report.

Contact Officer: Alan Asbury (01296) 585112

The Committee received a report which updated members on the production of the Council’s Sustainable Travel Plan. The plan was produced every two years and outlined a Travel Plan and an Action Plan until 2019. The Travel Plan set out the activities, measures and targets, whilst the Action Plan outlined the methods to achieve these goals.

Members were informed on how the plan outlined the way AVDC demonstrated its environmental leadership and how the changes to Fleet had reduced costs by 47%. This award winning change had led to the local population benefiting from lower emissions, less traffic congestion, and also the availability of an electric charging infrastructure.  Additionally, AVDC had saved £100,000 through the Council’s Pool Car Scheme with Enterprise Rent A Car which had also reduced the number of  business trips made by Officers.  The scheme had been credited by the public and private sector, and earned a silver award at the National Energy Savings Trust Fleet Hero Awards 2015, as well as being acknowledged by British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association as one of the ten best practice case studies for public and private sector in July 2016.

The fleet had also contributed towards AVDC’s exceeding it’s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 34% by 2020 (i.e. 36.5% had been met by 2016).  Members also noted how the scheme had received some success through being marketed and sold to other bodies such as Bucks County Council and the Adur and Worthing Council, as well as delivering paid for presentations at the Houses of Parliament, and at the Cardiff City Hall to UK and Welsh public sector and government departments.

Members sought further information and were advised that:-

(i)            there were seven electric vehicle charge points on site at AVDC’s Gateway offices that were accessible to the public during office hours as long as it did not affect business usage.  It had been deemed a security risk to leave the car park open outside normal office hours.

(ii)           constituents were able to contact AVDC requesting charge points be installed in their local area as Officers had relationships with suppliers who would consider these requests.

(iii)          the car sharing scheme had tailed off over the past few months due to a variety of reasons.

(iv)         the car park badge scheme for AVDC staff vehicle was likely to remain in place.

(v)          central government were looking at the possibility of buying out all vehicles that produced illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide, with it also likely that local authorities to manage any related schemes.

The Committee then proposed and unanimously agreed that the following recommendation should be submitted to Cabinet when it considered this report:

"That the subject of electric vehicle charging points be comprehensively covered in the emerging VALP.  The Committee considers that demand will grow quickly in the next few years and that planning policy should provide for Vale-wide public access on-street charging points. A policy should also be in place to make full use of government incentives."

RESOLVED –

(1)          That the Committee noted and was supportive of the updated Sustainable Travel Plan.

(2)          That Cabinet be requested to ensure that the subject of the provision of Electric Vehicle charging points was covered in the emerging Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan.

(Note: In particular, (the Scrutiny Committee) considered that the demand for EV charging points would grow quickly in the next few years and that the Council’s planning policy should provide for Vale wide public access to on-street charging points.  A policy should also be in place to make full use of Government incentives).