Agenda item

Quarterly Progress Report

To consider the attached report.

Decision:

The Executive Board AGREED unanimously:

 

      i.        To ask Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire County Councils to undertake a joint study for the completion of the final stretch of the A10 Cambridge to Royston pedestrian and cycle route, to feed into the GCP’s future investment strategy prioritisation process.

 

     ii.        To make up to £1.75M contribution to the development phase of Cambridge South Station, with up to £8.25M from other national and local partners.

 

    iii.        To allocate 50% (£531,000) of the lost annual income resulting form the removal of the £1 parking charge at Park and Ride sites in the GCP area, from 1st April 2018 and to review this at the end of 2019/2020.

 

   iv.        To commission a feasibility study into upgrading the Girton Interchange and to allocate up to £100,000 towards the cost of the study.

 

    v.        To make a £50,000 contribution to a feasibility study into rail capacity in Cambridgeshire, in partnership with Network Rail, Cambridgeshire County Council and the Combined Authority.

 

   vi.        That new financial pressures will be built into the budget.

Minutes:

The Chairman invited Edward Leigh, Dr Ashley Easter, Sambor Czarnawski-Iliev, Cllr Susan van de Ven and Dr Michael Prior-Jones to ask their questions. Details of the questions and a summary of the answers given are set out in Appendix A to the minutes. Dr Easter was not present at the meeting so would receive a written response to his question.

 

The final section of the A10 Cambridge to Royston cycleway was discussed:

·         Clarity was needed regarding what Hertfordshire County Council was prepared to contribute to the project to complete the cycleway, with joint working required between Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire County Councils to deliver this.

·         The Executive Board was informed that the remaining part of the cycleway crossed the A505 and required a path to reach the A505 and a bridge to cross it to be delivered at the same time. Hertfordshire County Council had carried out a feasibility study for a new bridge and had said they would commit to lifetime maintenance of a bridge once constructed.

·         A business case needed to be presented by officers to the Executive Board before a decision could be made. The Executive Board’s Transport Portfolio Holder suggested a joint outline business case be developed by Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire County Councils.

·         The Interim Chief Executive advised that as the GCP was already over committed on tranche 1 funding, this project could not be delivered as part of this. It was advised that a business case be developed for the GCP’s consideration for its future investment strategy.

·         The Executive Board was advised that the Local Enterprise Partnership was supportive of greenways and other cycling schemes and that this project was an opportunity to allow expansion and growth of the area by enabling skills to be brought into it through the use of a cycleway.

 

The Interim Chief Executive presented the quarterly progress report and informed the Board that central government had confirmed an accelerated timeline for the delivery of Cambridge South Station.

 

Cambridge South Station was discussed by the Board:

·         The Vice Chairman expressed disappointment at the lack of clarity from central government regarding East/West rail and expressed concern regarding their commitment to the delivery of Cambridge South Station.

·         The Interim Chief Executive informed the Board of central government’s announcement regarding Cambridge South Station and advised that there was commitment to deliver this. The Board was informed that the Department of Transport would lead on the development phase of Cambridge South Station. A legal agreement was to be signed regarding how the GCP was working with the Department of Transport to deliver it.

·         The GCP’s Transport Portfolio Holder advised that clarity was needed regarding whether Cambridge South Station sat separately from East/West rail and that one organisation should deliver Cambridge South Station. The Interim Chief Executive advised that the development phase would provide clarity  regarding this.

 

The Park and Ride Subsidy was discussed:

·         The Interim Transport Director informed the Board that since the County Council had introduced the park and ride parking charge, usage of the park and ride had dropped by 14%.

·         The Board was informed that the £10 overnight parking charge would remain, to deter long-stay parking.

·         Board members expressed support for the proposal however the Vice Chairman advised that this should not be an open ended commitment and should be limited to three years. The Vice Chairman proposed the recommendation be amended to specify a three year timescale to enable funding to be reviewed. This proposal was discussed by Board members and advice was sought from Cambridgeshire County Council’s Director of Finance. The Board was advised that regardless of whether the recommendation was amended to specify a timescale, the GCP would review all resources and funding allocations before moving into phase two at the end of 2021. The Vice Chairman proposed the recommendation be amended to:

 ‘Agree to allocate 50% (£531k) of the lost annual income resulting from the removal of the £1 parking charge at Park and Ride sites in the GCP area, from 1st April 2018, and review this at the end of tranche 1.’

 

A vote was taken on the proposed amendment; and all Executive Board members voted in favour of this, which became the substantive recommendation.

 

The Girton Interchange was discussed:

·         In relation to this, the Transport Portfolio Holder informed the Board that he was chairman of the central section of East/West rail.

·         The Board was informed that the Transport Portfolio Holder would be attending an Oxford to Cambridge stakeholder group meeting, on 15 December 2017.

 

The Cambridgeshire Rail Study was discussed:

·         The Board was informed that a £300,000 study had been commissioned with Network Rail. The study covered the area stretching between Stansted North junction, Ely, Chippenham and Meldreth.

·         The Vice Chairman expressed concern regarding the capacity of these lines to accommodate additional stations, advising that Network Rail had been found to be resistant to new stations. The Interim Transport Director advised that additional stations would be considered.

·         The Transport Portfolio Holder expressed support for the recommendation however was concerned regarding the sufficiency of the area to be studied, advising that Bury St Edmunds and Norwich should be included.

·         The Executive Board asked the Interim Transport Director to seek clarification from the Department of Transport regarding the geographical area and additional stations.

 

The Vice Chairman would raise the role of rural exception sites in South Cambridgeshire in relation to the provision of affordable housing, at his next Housing Portfolio Holder meeting.

 

The Vice Chairman requested fuller financial analysis in March 2018 regarding core funding from the government.

 

A financial monitoring update would be circulated to Executive Board members and added to the agenda for the next meeting.

 

The Board was informed that electric vehicle charging points would be installed between 2018 and 2022. The Interim Chief Executive would clarify how many were to be installed and by when.

 

 

The Executive Board AGREED unanimously:

 

      i.        To ask Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire County Councils to undertake a joint study for the completion of the final stretch of the A10 Cambridge to Royston pedestrian and cycle route, to feed into the GCP’s future investment strategy prioritisation process.

 

     ii.        To make up to £1.75M contribution to the development phase of Cambridge South Station, with up to £8.25M from other national and local partners.

 

    iii.        To allocate 50% (£531,000) of the lost annual income resulting form the removal of the £1 parking charge at park and ride sites in the GCP area, from 1st April 2018 and to review this at the end of 2019/2020.

 

   iv.        To commission a feasibility study into upgrading the Girton Interchange and to allocate up to £100,000 towards the cost of the study.

 

    v.        To make a £50,000 contribution to a feasibility study into rail capacity in Cambridgeshire, in partnership with Network Rail, Cambridgeshire County Council and the Combined Authority.

 

   vi.        That new financial pressures would be built into the budget.

Supporting documents: