Agenda item

To consider the attached report.

The Joint Assembly agreed unanimously to RECOMMEND that the Executive Board:

(a)          Note the progress to date;

(b)          Delegate to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Chairperson a response to Highways England (HE) supporting:

·         the inclusion of an M11 Smart Motorway upgrade within the next Highways England Route Investment Strategy whilst ensuring that local impacts are fully assessed through the business case development process; and

·         the upgrade of the functionality and the ‘all movement’ accessibility of the Girton Interchange subject to full impact assessment;

(c)          Agree to increase the number of spaces at the Trumpington Park and Ride site subject to necessary planning permissions being obtained;

(d)          Agree to undertake a more detailed business case analysis as set out in this report in relation to medium term Park and Ride expansion and Park and Cycle options and associated junction improvements; and

(e)          Agree the next steps/ timetable detailed in the report.

The Joint Assembly considered a report to be presented to the next Executive Board meeting which provided information on further assessment of the Western Orbital project undertaken since December 2016.  It was noted that this project had a number of specific work streams including park and ride expansion and engagement with Highways England (HE) on the strategy for the M11 corridor to improve access to key growth sites and bus priority.

Helen Bradbury, Chairperson of the Local Liaison Forum (LLF) attended the meeting and presented feedback on the Forum’s views on the proposals.  Ms Bradbury expressed concern about the time available for the LLF to consider proposals in advance of GCP meetings and drew attention to the fact that over half its members represented Parish Councils and had to consult their members in advance of LLF meetings.  On the specific proposals she reported that she had two Western Orbital meetings to report back on.  The first on 21^st June 2017 had resolved that:

Park and Ride should be sited before congestion begins and as a general principal new transport infrastructure should not be allowed to urbanise villages surrounding the City or damage the City’s Green Belt.  The LLF requested that the City Deal:

·       Investigate sites south of Harston.

·       Prioritise rail.

·       Consider a heavy rail park and ride at Foxton.

The second meeting took place on 11^th September 2017 and looked specifically at the proposals being considered today about the expansion of the current park and ride site.  On behalf of Trumpington Residents Association the LLF asked:

·         That a full risk assessment of the proposed expansion be undertaken recognising it was located in a residential area and was located next to a school. 

·         That the expansion include additional landscaping and a wooded screening area between the park and ride site and the primary school right next to it.

·         What evidence supported the statement that the existing road network could cope with yet more demand as a result of this expansion.

With reference to the upgrading of the M11 to a Smart motorway, the LLF asked for more information on what this would entail; what the safety implications were; and how this would be accommodated by the County.

The Executive Director of Economy, Transport and Environmental Services in introducing the report drew attention to the fact this was an update report.  He explained that a range of issues were being discussed with HE and reassured the Joint Assembly that this was very much being linked to associated proposals for the A428 and Madingley Road.  Work included Girton Interchange, its relationship to the current A14 scheme and also links to a potential expressway scheme.  There were no absolute conclusions to those discussions yet, but officers were challenging HE to identify things that could be done sooner rather than later.  Work on Junction 11 was continuing with the aim of getting a direct route into the park and ride site and Design Teams were working to prepare detailed proposal for this.  In addition it was planned to put forward a submission as part of the Road Investment Strategy consultation to evidence why a Smart motorway conversion of at least junctions 10 to 14 was considered essential. 

With reference to the planned expansion of the Trumpington park and ride site, the Executive Director explained that a simple modelling exercise had taken place to identify what potential demand could be under a series of scenarios.  This had given an estimate of projected increased park and ride demand at Junction 11, which ranged from 400 to 850 depending on the scenario.  It was clear that additional spaces were required and a number of options for expansion had been prepared based on ground level expansion of the existing site and/or new infrastructure on the site, either above or below ground.  At this stage it was proposed to proceed with ground level expansion and it was estimated that an additional 299 spaces could be provided.  This would accommodate all of the expected additional demand up to 2022.  The cost would be just over £1.5m.  It was noted that additional work was also planned to provide 5 extra full coach bays or 10 minibus bays for schools and long distance tourist coaches.  The indicative cost of this improvement was £325,000.

With reference to comments made by the LLF, the Executive Director confirmed that a full risk assessment would take place.  Regarding comments about planting and landscaping, he explained that the scheme was based on turning some of the landscaped areas into additional surfaced car park.  However plans would be subject to planning permission which would likely include appropriate landscaping.  With reference to priority junctions, the Executive Director explained that the City Centre Access project was looking at managing how traffic moved around the City and there was also a piece of work looking at how more modern traffic signal systems could be used across the whole of the City.

The Joint Assembly was invited to consider and comment on the recommendations to be presented to the Executive Board.  The main points of discussion are summarised below:

·         Councillor Tim Bick asked who would consider the planning application for the expansion of the park and ride site and in response the Executive Director explained that there was no hard and fast rule, but such applications would normally be considered by the County Council’s Development Control Committee.  Councillor Bick indicated that landscaping and screening were likely to be strongly advocated by Ward Councillors and local residents. 

·         Councillor Bick asked for clarification of the term ‘Smart motorway’ and emphasised the need to be clear what the GCP was expecting to get out of this proposal.  He understood this would involve using the hard shoulder as a third lane and asked if this was the case how this met identified need.  In response the Executive Director explained that the Smart motorway approach involved making better use of information to manage traffic and could also include using the hard shoulder as an additional lane.  The discussions with HE were based on the assumption that proposals would involve the use of the hard shoulder.  It was acknowledged that just doing this would not resolve the problems and discussions with HE would include the need for improved junctions; in particular 11, 12 and 13. 

·         In response to a question from Councillor John Williams the Executive Director explained that the cost of additional landscaping was not included in the costs, which at this stage were broad estimates.  The final scheme would be costed in detail and would include landscaping along with other work.

·         Councillor Noel Kavanagh welcomed the expansion of coach parking and asked whether there were any plans to expand the existing park and cycle facilities.  The Executive Director acknowledged park and cycle was a popular facility, but explained that there was already a significant amount of provision on site but if considered necessary this could be expanded.

·         Councillor Dave Baigent asked whether consideration had been given to the potential knock on effect of any expansion to residents’ parking schemes in the City.  The loss of on street parking in the City could lead to an increased demand for park and ride.  In response the Executive Director confirmed that there could be a significant knock on effect if residents parking schemed were introduced across the City.  It was unlikely that this would happen in the near future as currently only 7 or 8 zones were under consideration.

·         Andy Williams welcomed the proposals.  He understood residents’ concerns and asked for these to be taken into account in progressing the proposals.  In particular he was concerned about safety on this very busy site and asked for this to be given careful consideration.  He expressed support for the provision of additional park and ride sites to serve traffic coming into Cambridge on the M11 and asked for an assurance that development of the Trumpington park and ride site this would not delay discussions about additional park and ride provision, because Trumpington would not be enough increased demand.  In response the Executive Director confirmed that what was being proposed was a short term measure to get some additional spaces on the site fairly quickly.  Work on additional park and ride provision in the longer term would not be delayed. 

·         Councillor Bridget Smith referred to the recommendation of some members of the LLF, that consideration be given to a rail focused park and ride at Foxton and recalled that support for some improvements had been agreed in principle some time ago.  She drew attention to concern about how to justify spending £1.5m on interventions at this stage if the longer term plan was to spend a significant amount of money on a consolidated site.  In response the Executive Director repeated his comments about the need for a short term solution pending the development of additional park and ride provision, which would take at least three years to put in place.  He explained that notwithstanding the development of additional park and ride sites, the Trumpington site would remain on the existing site for some time as there was a covenant on the site to ensure long term access to the John Lewis collection facility.

·         Councillor Smith also asked about the coach drop off and referred to an article in a newspaper about an authority that had banned cars dropping off at schools.  She appreciated this was a radical step, but wondered if encouraging parents to use a safe high quality park and ride arrangement would potentially have a dramatic impact on the number of cars travelling into schools in Cambridge.  Councilor Smith also referred to concerns about the potential impact of traffic on the A10 and asked for and received an assurance that officers would be modelling that.  She also echoed Councillor Kavanagh’s comments about using this as an opportunity to optimise park and cycle provision. 

·         Councillor Tim Wotherspoon reported that the new primary school at Cambridge North West was adopting a similar approach banning the use of cars for school drop off.  The Executive Director explained that there were ways of controlling of school drop off, but emphasised this was potentially a highly contentious issue.  If this were to be proposed elsewhere it would need to be considered and consulted on very carefully. 

The Joint Assembly considered the officer recommendations being presented to the Executive Board, taking into account comments from the LLF and agreed unanimously to RECOMMEND that the Executive Board:

(a)          Note the progress to date;

(b)          Delegate to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Chairperson a response to Highways England (HE) supporting:

·         the inclusion of an M11 Smart Motorway upgrade within the next Highways England Route Investment Strategy whilst ensuring that local impacts are fully assessed through the business case development process; and

·         the upgrade of the functionality and the ‘all movement’ accessibility of the Girton Interchange subject to full impact assessment;

(c)          Agree to increase the number of spaces at the Trumpington Park and Ride site subject to necessary planning permissions being obtained;

(d)          Agree to undertake a more detailed business case analysis as set out in the report in relation to medium term Park and Ride expansion and Park and Cycle options and associated junction improvements; and

(e)          Agree the next steps/ timetable detailed in the report.