Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors M Knight and A Poland-Goodyer. Councillor P Cooper had substituted in for Councillor A Poland-Goodyer.

Councillor M Knight had replaced Councillor S Guy as a Member of the Committee.

Councillor S Broadbent declared a personal interest in Item 5 as the Chairman of the East West Main Line Partnership.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 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/

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

The Committee will receive an update report on the East West Rail project and hear from representatives from East West Rail.

Contributors:

East West Rail Alliance

Mark Cuzner, Director

Jez Baldock, Deputy Director

East West Rail Company

Kate Campbell, Senior Communications Manager

Network Rail

Peter Hume, Joint Sponsor Lead

Cllr Steve Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport

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

Ian Thompson, Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability

Dr Laura Leech, Head of Major Projects

Susan Browning, EWR Stakeholder & Team Leader

The Chairman welcomed Mark Cuzner (East West Rail Alliance) and Peter Hume (Network Rail) to the meeting and invited the Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Steven Broadbent, to introduce the item. The Cabinet Member noted that activities on the project had increased over the last year which was heavily impacting local communities (e.g. road conditions and closures, and traffic management). A team of officers was in continual dialogue to manage road closure applications and community engagement, and the Council was supporting residents where possible. The work of the Deputy Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Peter Martin, was acknowledged as was the work of local Ward Members to support their communities.

The Cabinet Member announced that the Council had secured an agreement with EWR to carry out permanent repairs to 12 roads in the north of the county over the next 12 months. The first road in the programme, Queen Catherine Road, had already been repaired. The Cabinet Member hoped the programme reassured residents and that EWR would effectively communicate the closures required for the repairs to occur. The plans are appended to the minutes.

Prior to the presentation given by East West Rail, Mark Cuzner noted apologies from Jez Baldock and Kate Campbell. The following points were highlighted during the presentation:-

·       The Alliance acknowledged the disruption the project caused residents and businesses and apologized for this impact. The Alliance had tried to mitigate the disruption and thanked Members and the community for its engagement.

·       The infrastructure ready date was on target for its scheduled delivery of July 2024. Currently, work was underway on Sections 2A and 2B which involved HS2 carrying out the civil works.

·       54% of track laying was complete and materials were brought in via the rail network. Substantial work at Bletchley Station had completed whilst Winslow Station was underway.  9 footbridges (7 in Bucks) had been completed which aimed to reconnect community footpaths over the railway. 5 new bridges (3 in Bucks) were completed and open to traffic.

·       The Alliance briefed HGV drivers on routes and expected behaviours (e.g. wheel-washing) in order to alleviate pressures caused by traffic movements to and from EWR compounds. Winter had been particularly challenging. Acoustic barriers had also been installed to protect the community during construction.

·       There were three discussion workstreams with HS2 on traffic management which aimed to coordinate road closures and avoid joint-closures.

·       EWR’s 10% biodiversity net gain commitment required the provision of compensation sites adjacent to the railway. The intention was to minimise removal and protect vegetation where possible. The Alliance worked with Natural England on environmental mitigations and key species e.g. badgers and great crested newts. One example of vegetation retention was a cutting west of Salden Wood Bridge.

·       The project considered climate resilience by being built to withstand a 40% rainfall increase and 65-70% river flow increase.

·       Upcoming future works had a RAG rating to measure its impact on the community. Notable red items were ‘Compound & Temporary Land Reinstatement’ and Permanent Highway Repairs & Reinstatements’ which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Committee will receive an update on Public Transport including progress on Demand Responsive Pilots.

Contributors:

Cllr Steve Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport

Richard Barker, Corporate Director for Communities

Lindsey Vallis, Service Director for Transport Services

James Loader, Head of Public Transport

The Cabinet Member for Transport introduced the report and highlighted the following points:-

·       There were 60 schools accredited by Modeshift Stars in Buckinghamshire which made the county the top performing large local authority nationally.

·       28 out of the 95 bus services in Buckinghamshire were entirely supported by the Council.

·       By May 2022, passenger numbers had returned to 80% of pre-covid figures.

·       The national £2 bus fare cap scheme would cease at the end of March. The Enhanced Partnership was considering replacement schemes to maintain passenger numbers.

·       The Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) offer in High Wycombe was performing well with up to 250 journeys taking place daily from between 700-800 ‘virtual’ bus stops.

·       There was evidence of repeat DRT use with 20% of users having done so 5+ times. Reviews were vastly positive with most negative reviews referring to wanting greater geographical coverage. This had been fed back to Department for Transport (DfT) who had funded and outlined the DRT area.

·       After one year of usage, consideration may be given to developing the offering to cover evenings and weekends.

The following points were noted during the Committee’s discussion:-

·       One Member expressed interest in the High Wycombe DRT scheme being extended to Flackwell Heath and Little Marlow, whilst another Member encouraged a DRT in the Ivers following the trialling of a dial-a-ride scheme and the opening of the Elizabeth Line.

·       The DRT scheme in Aylesbury may assist in the rural bus offering once it commenced later in the year.

·       It was statutory for the Council to provide a concessionary fare offer which the Council chose to commence from 9am.

·       Members considered the overall quality of bus services including engine quality. This would be addressed through the Enhanced Partnership and fleet upgrades in service contracts. Through the Enhanced Partnership, one operator in Ivinghoe would soon be expanding its timetable to include a last bus returning from Cheddington at 7pm.

·       The High Wycombe DRT was not used for school buses but children aged 13+ could use the service. The DRT’s operating area was based on a bid from 2020 that considered destinations such as the hospital and business parks with the intention of being reliable. Terriers and Hazlemere had not been included due to this requirement and current usage-data supported this decision. Expanding the service times beyond 7pm or including weekends would need to consider its costs against demand.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for the report.

To provide Members with information regarding the work being undertaken to assess the future operational arrangements relating to waste collection & street scene services and the planned approach regarding the Council’s future Waste Strategy.

Contributors:

Cllr Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment

Richard Barker, Corporate Director for Communities

Martin Dickman, Service Director for Neighbourhood Services

Claire Oakins, Waste Strategy Manager

Graham Neale-Flower, Project Officer

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment introduced the report and advised that this was an update on the Council’s activities regarding the waste strategy. Currently waste collection in the north was in-house and outsourced in the south at a total annual operational cost of around £18.2m (£7.2m north, £11m south). The southern waste collection service had improved since last coming to TECC.

All options for the service provision were open and any decision would be subject to the decision-making process and timelines, and would factor in costs, customer experience and the climate change agenda. Clarity was also required on the proposed Government schemes, such as packaging waste and free garden waste, which could add variance to future service provision. 

The following points were noted in the Committee’s discussion:-

·       The Cabinet Member agreed with the principal of a gully clearance being followed by a street sweeper however town centres had a key focus for street sweepers.

·       Members noted that satisfaction of residents by the waste collection service may be more important than cost due to the reputational harm of a poor service. The in-house service in the north ran effectively and was highly valued by Members.

·       The outsourced Veolia contract had a five-year contract break clause which was being explored as part of the overall options appraisal.

·       The Government’s scheme regarding producer responsibilities for packaging waste varied between devolved nations e.g. glass would not be included in England. The update from Government on 20 January 2023 was being assessed by Local Authorities who had raised inconsistencies. The commencement of the scheme in England had been delayed until October 2025.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for the report and welcomed a future update on the development of the strategy.

The Select Committee will consider the upcoming work programme.

One Member requested that the Select Committee consider the Cycle Ways Strategy in its future work programme.

Thursday 30 March at 2pm.

Thursday 30 March at 10am.