Agenda item

To consider a report by Graham Hughes, Executive Director (Cambridgeshire County Council), scheduled for consideration by the Executive Board on 3 December 2015.

The Joint Assembly RECOMMENDED to the Executive Board that it:

(a)        Approves the process and timescales for agreeing the tranche 2 prioritised infrastructure improvement programme.

(b)        Approves preparatory work to support and inform tranche 2 decisions, including scheme assessment and interim work for the Local Plans regarding Cambridge Northern Fringe East, and approve funding from the prioritised ‘tranche 2 programme development’ budget to cover one third of the Cambridge Northern Fringe East work (estimated at £70,000) as part of the pipeline work.

(c)        Agrees to make the following amendments to the list of schemes set out in paragraph 8 of the report:

·         the removal of the word ‘Station’ in respect of the Newmarket Road to Cambridge Science Park Station bus priority scheme;

·         the addition of a city centre bus and coach capacity management scheme;

·         the addition of a Huntingdon Road Park and Ride scheme.

The Joint Assembly considered a report which outlined the proposed process and timescale for making decisions on priority schemes for tranche 2 of the City Deal infrastructure programme. 

Stuart Walmsley, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Head of Major Infrastructure Delivery, presented the report and reminded Assembly Members that the Executive Board had agreed to prioritise £180 million worth of projects in tranche 1 of the City Deal programme for the £100 million of grant funding available over that five year period.  The schemes that remained from the indicative City Deal programme that were not prioritised for investment in tranche 1 were set out in the report at paragraph 8.  It was emphasised that in addition to these schemes other proposals or schemes may come forward from the work underway on the Cambridge Access Study or from the Smart Cities project. 

A proposed approach and timeline for the tranche 2 programme prioritisation was set out in table 1 of the report.

Councillor Susan van de Ven, Cambridgeshire County Councillor for the Meldreth division, referred to the Cambridge to Royston A10 cycle scheme that was not included in the final programme of prioritised schemes for the first tranche of City Deal funding.  She highlighted the overwhelming support for the scheme from all eleven partners of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and over 100 other A10 businesses and education centres.

Councillor van de Ven said that the northern half of the route sat within a convenient radius of Cambridge, for funding purposes, and referred to funding that had been secured through the Cycling Ambition Grant to create a cycle and pedestrian link between Foxton and Harston.  She reported that the southern half of the corridor between Royston and Melbourn had no infrastructure funding source, but stated that as this was a highly desirable corridor for modal shift it had received Local Sustainability Transport funding designed to work with businesses and residents to encourage a change in travel behaviour, which was now taking place through Travel for Cambridgeshire.  She acknowledged that this natural transport corridor crossed county boundaries and reported that Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire County Councillors and officers were working closely together on this issue.  Furthermore, Councillors from both authorities had met with their respective Local Enterprise Partnerships, with the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership characterising the unfunded Melbourn to Royston segment as ‘a missing link in a strong corridor scheme now taking shape’.

Councillor van de Ven said that local residents brought together by the A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign were now undertaking community fundraising in order to make the A10 cycle scheme better placed to attract match-funding.  She and colleagues were therefore working to assemble as many resources as possible toward the realisation of this scheme and asked the Joint Assembly to support application of City Deal funding to ensure its completion.

Discussion ensued on the initial prioritisation of schemes for tranche 2, and Councillor Tim Bick, Chairman, proposed the inclusion of a scheme to the list of those carried over from the indicative City Deal programme on city centre bus and coach capacity management.  Councillor Maurice Leeke proposed that the word ‘Station’ be removed from the scheme entitled ‘Newmarket Road to Cambridge Science Park Station bus priority scheme’ and Councillor Burkitt proposed a Huntingdon Road Park and Ride scheme be added.   The Joint Assembly supported these proposals.

Mr Walmsley reminded the Joint Assembly that this report sought to set out the process that would be followed for prioritising schemes for inclusion in tranche 2 of the City Deal programme.  He said that the programme would consist of major projects that required significant planning, organisation and consultation.  In answer to a question regarding the deliverability of the tranche 1 programme, Mr Walmsley said that good progress had been made and that City Deal partners were committed to getting those schemes right.  He said that work and planning for the tranche 2 programme at this stage would have no impact at all on deliverability of those schemes in tranche 1.  He therefore fully expected the tranche 1 programme to be delivered in accordance with the timescales that had been set. 

It was noted that the Joint Assembly, and subsequently the Executive Board, would have further opportunities to influence the specific schemes that would make up the tranche 2 programme.

The Joint Assembly RECOMMENDED to the Executive Board that it:

(a)        Approves the process and timescales for agreeing the tranche 2 prioritised infrastructure improvement programme.

(b)        Approves preparatory work to support and inform tranche 2 decisions, including scheme assessment and interim work for the Local Plans regarding Cambridge Northern Fringe East, and approve funding from the prioritised ‘tranche 2 programme development’ budget to cover one third of the Cambridge Northern Fringe East work (estimated at £70,000) as part of the pipeline work.

(c)        Agrees to make the following amendments to the list of schemes set out in paragraph 8 of the report:

·         the removal of the word ‘Station’ in respect of the Newmarket Road to Cambridge Science Park Station bus priority scheme;

·         the addition of a city centre bus and coach capacity management scheme;

·         the addition of a Huntingdon Road Park and Ride scheme.