Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors E Culverhouse and S Guy. Apologies were also received from Joan Hancox, Richard Lumley and Ian Thompson.

Councillor R Carington declared a personal interest in Item 5 as a Director of Carington Estates which historically had some land acquired by HS2 under compulsory purchase.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2022 were confirmed as an accurate record.

Public Questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire to put a question to a Select Committee. The Committee will hear from members of the public who have submitted questions in advance relating to items on the agenda. The Cabinet Member, relevant key partners and responsible officers will be invited to respond.

Further information on how to register can be found here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/get-involved-with-council-decisions/select-committees/

Three questions have been received as attached.

Three public questions were considered at the meeting as attached to the agenda and verbal responses were provided by the Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change and the Cabinet Member for Transport. The questions and responses are appended to the minutes.

The Committee will receive an update on the HS2 project in Buckinghamshire.

Contributors:

HS2

Maddelyn Sutton, Head of Engagement, HS2

Rohan Perin, Client Director, HS2

David Emms, Client Director, HS2

Simon Matthews, Interface & Stakeholder Director, EKFB

David Eve, Head of Engagement & Compliance, Align

Gary Rogerson, Senior Environment Manager, HS2

Buckinghamshire Council

Cllr Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport

Cllr Peter Martin, Deputy Cabinet Member for Transport – HS2/East West Rail

Richard Lumley, Service Director for Strategic Transport & Infrastructure

Dr Laura Leech, Head of Major Projects

Rod Black, HS2 Highways Approvals Team Leader

Gavin Kingsnorth, HS2 Consents

The Chairman welcomed representatives from HS2 Ltd and invited them to introduce themselves to the Select Committee:

Maddelyn Sutton, Head of Engagement, HS2

Rohan Perin, Client Director, HS2

David Emms, Client Director, HS2

Simon Matthews, Interface & Stakeholder Director, EKFB

Gary Rogerson, Senior Environment Manager, HS2

Darielle Proctor, Head of Engagement & Compliance, Align

Joel Sykes, Senior Engagement & Interface Manager, HS2

HS2 Ltd gave a presentation to the Select Committee which began by outlining the responsibilities between Align and EKFB. The project was on track for delivery and handover around September 2025. Works would increase for the Align main works (C1) with five shafts under construction supported by a main depot in Maple Cross. Expected works in 2022 were viaduct deck gantry launches and continued construction of 57 viaduct piers between the Hertfordshire border and the Colne River. The EKFB main works for 2022 included the completion of site infrastructure such as compounds, internal site access roads, temporary bridges and temporary drainage networks. Additionally, viaducts, bridges and highways would be constructed with the bulk of materials being imported by rail.

HS2 Ltd had a community engagement strategy which committed to:

·       Informing – updating on issues that affect the local area.

·       Involving – involvement in the opportunities as HS2 is planned and built.

·       Responding – listening to you and helping with questions and concerns.

The teams delivering the strategy were based locally and it was felt the project was starting to benefit from the reintroduction of face-to-face engagement post-Covid 19. HS2’s website also contained localised information on project works. The project had a mobile visitor centre which welcomed people to explore behind hoardings which facilitated explanations of the project to the community. The project promoted £40m funding available to community and business groups along the Phase One route. £3,350,000 had be awarded in Buckinghamshire and 58 local projects had received funding since 2017. The Chiltern Forest Golf Club 2018 Ltd had recently been awarded £27,326 of funding towards their ‘Accessibility for All’ project. Further funding was available through the Road Safety fund, Woodland fund, Area Specific funding and localised community investment. The presentation also highlighted the jobs, skills and business opportunities of the HS2 project.

Regarding the environment and sustainability, HS2 intended to plant up to 7 million trees and shrubs along the Phase One route and over 400,000 trees already been planted in Buckinghamshire. Over 40 wildlife habitat and planting sites had been created in the county which contained grasslands, ponds, badger sets, bat boxes and reptile habitats. Ahead of the main works, there had been extensive ecological and archaeological works. The carbon impact of the project had been reduced from 2,262,196 tonnes in 2018 to 1,617,421 tonnes in 2021 (28.5% reduction). It was intended to reduce this to around 1.1m tonnes through further efficiencies such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuels, material transported by rail and diesel free sites. Partnership working in innovation would also be important to decarbonise. In January 2022, HS2 Ltd had published its Net Zero Carbon Plan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Committee will receive a report on current work underway to develop schemes to improve the road network and encourage sustainable transport. The report also explains how the transport planning and town planning functions work together to secure the future transport network needs of Buckinghamshire.

Contributors:

Cllr Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport

Richard Lumley, Service Director for Strategic Transport & Infrastructure

Joan Hancox, Head of Transport Strategy

Rebecca Dengler-Jones, Growth and Development Strategy Manager

The Chairman invited the Cabinet Member, Councillor Steve Broadbent, to introduce the report. The Cabinet Member’s presentation highlighted the following:-

·       The scheme intended to support the council’s corporate priorities:

o   Increasing prosperity

o   Improving our environment

·       The ‘Predict and Provide’ methodology was used in transport planning. The policy framework included the Local Transport Plan (2016), the recent Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy and local plans.

·       Suggestions of Highways improvements and sustainable transport schemes from Members were considered but needed to be prioritized.

·       Funding for Highways improvements and sustainable transport schemes came from different sources including Section 106 contributions, developers delivering Section 278 schemes and external grants (such as Department for Transport). £6.66m had recently been secured via external funding sources and the schemes these had been allocated towards were outlined. 

·       The outcome of the bid for Active Travel Fund Tranche 3 was expected later this month.

·       Trinity Road ‘quietway’ in Marlow had been introduced during the pandemic and was planned to become permanent. The quietway had seen a 25% increase in cycling and a 30% increase in pedestrian usage.

·       The Waddesdon Greenway was a good example of rural active travel. The scheme connected Aylesbury Vale Parkway to Waddesdon Manor. This had been funded externally and also had received funding for 10 years of maintenance. Subject to funding, there were proposals to connect the Greenway to Westcott Venture Park.

·       The Ivinghoe Freight Zone had recently finished statutory consultation. The results were being assessed with a view to the scheme being implemented later in 2022 (pending final decision).

·       Feasibility work was being carried out to incorporate active travel options on a disused rail line to create a Greenway between High Wycombe and Bourne End.

·       The Department for Transport had awarded Rural Mobility Funds towards Demand Responsive Travel schemes. The two pilots, in Aylesbury and High Wycombe, sought to link communities outside the town centres. Service contracts needed to be tendered and it was expected the pilots would start summer 2022 and last several years.

·       The strategic aspiration was to connect the length of Buckinghamshire with a greenway spine. This would then link with other schemes such as the Emerald Way proposal which was currently under consultation. The team also worked with neighbouring local authorities to connect active travel schemes across council boundaries.

·       The service also worked across portfolios such as Planning, Environment and Climate Change.

·       The current Local Travel Plan (LTP) 4 was six years old and work was now underway to develop LTP5.

The following points were made during the Committee discussion:-

·       Members requested timescales of known schemes. These would be appended to the minutes.

ACTION: Rebecca Dengler-Jones/Chris Ward

·       Buses on the DfT Rural Scheme were likely to be hybrid.

·       The Waddesdon Greenway had the support of local Members and Parishes, and the proposal to extend this to Westcott would be well received. The Cabinet Member assured this was being actively pursued. 

·       The service was commended for receiving the Rural Mobility Fund and it was hoped lessons learnt from this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee will receive an update on the Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy.

Contributors:

Cllr Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment

Steve Bambrick, Service Director for Planning & Environment

Ed Barlow, Head of Climate Change & Environment

Alexander Beckett, Energy & Climate Change Manager

The Chairman invited the Cabinet Member for Environment & Climate Change, Councillor Peter Strachan, to introduce the update to the Select Committee. There were a number of updates on key transport related initiatives, nature-based solutions, buildings and green behaviour encouragement:

·       A new Taxi License policy whereby licenses would only be issued to ultra-low or zero emission vehicles by 2030.

·       The installation of two wireless induction electric vehicle charging points in Marlow.

·       The commissioning of fleet electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

·       £0.5m bid submitted for electrifying a refuse collection vehicle.

·       New electric vehicle charging working group.

·       62 accredited school travel plans with the School Travel team placed second in Modeshift Sustainable Travel: Active, Responsible, Safe (STARS) league table.

·       Expansion of e-scooter trial into Princes Risborough.

·       3,450 trees established at Billets Field and 243 trees gifted to schools and care homes. £203,000 had been secured from the Local Authority Treescapes Fund to deliver tree planting in non-woodland locations including roadsides.

·       Though the Green Homes Grant Programme, £7.43m had been secured to improve the energy performance and efficiency of low-income homes. Over £200,000 had been secured towards two heat pump projects in council buildings which aimed to move away from gas.

·       Training for Members was planned for later in 2022.

The Cabinet Member also addressed the council’s recent scoring on Climate Emergency UK’s scorecard system. The level of training provided by Climate Emergency UK to volunteers that scored council strategies, and their base level of knowledge regarding undertaking these assessments, was unknown. When reviewing the scoring criteria, it was felt that the Council could have received an additional 11 points and it was noted that there was no scoring mechanism of the deliverability of the strategy which was important.

The following points were made during the Committee discussion:-

·       The funding bid was to convert an older refuse vehicle into a battery powered one. Once completed, its effectiveness would be trialed which would then inform future decision-making on the refuse fleet. The Cabinet Member would update on this as it progressed.

·       The Climate Change Steering Group was co-chaired by the Cabinet Member and Ian Thompson. It consisted of senior officers and would liaise with other Cabinet Members on their portfolios to ensure climate change was actioned in each area.

·       The Electric Vehicle Charging Group was internal with a membership of officers from different services. Members asked that the experience of electric vehicle users be considered, for instance by ensuring the right charger (slow vs fast) was in the right location (dwell time) and that caution be exercised when selecting partnerships. The Cabinet Member for Transport acknowledged that there been issues and that recent procurement and service level agreements aimed to mitigate this going forward. Another Member expressed concern over the performance of BP Pulse’s charging points in Buckingham.

·       Around 1% of trees had been planted over the first year and this volume would increase over the coming year. Woodland scheme sites had been identified across the county however details on individual sites could not be shared  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Members are asked to suggest potential items so that they can be considered for the next municipal year’s work programme.

Contributors:

All Members

A work programme for the next municipal year would be drafted in due course. Members were asked to advise the Chairman of items they wish to be considered for the future work programme.

The Cabinet Member for Transport advised the Committee that public consultation was underway on Buckinghamshire Council receiving powers relating to moving traffic offences. Feedback would be considered by Cabinet before deciding whether to formally apply for these powers. The Select Committee may want to receive a report on this later in the process.  

The date is to be confirmed and will be circulated in due course.

The next meeting date was to be confirmed.