Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Iyengar and Rigby.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications. 

Councillor Rampton attended the meeting as substitute for Councillor Iyengar. Councillor Northover attended the meeting as substitute for Councillor Rigby.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

Councillor Brooke declared an interest in Agenda Item 7 (Emergency Active Travel Plan Programme) as a family member resided in Tatnum Road. Councillor Northover declared an interest in Agenda Item 7 as she resided close to the Cleveland Road bridge proposal. Councillor Miles declared an interest in Agenda Item 7 as a family member resided in Oakdale. Councillor Hadley (Portfolio Holder) declared an interest in Agenda Item 7 as he resided in the area of the Tatnum Road proposal.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 20 July 2020.

For clarification of the declarations made and recorded in the minutes of the meeting held at 6pm on 10 July 2020 it was noted that Councillor M Greene declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in agenda item 8, Scrutiny of Transport and Infrastructure Related Cabinet Reports, Traffic Regulation Orders – Advertisement of Traffic Regulation Orders for the Lansdowne Programme, as he and his spouse have an interest in a property in the area.

It was also noted that at the same meeting, Councillor N Greene declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in agenda item 8, Scrutiny of Transport and Infrastructure Related Cabinet Reports, Traffic Regulation Orders – Advertisement of Traffic Regulation Orders for the Lansdowne Programme, as she and her spouse have an interest in a property in the area.

Subject to the above the minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2020 were approved as a correct record.

To note and comment on the attached action sheet which tracks decisions, actions and outcomes arising from previous Board meetings.

The Board noted the Action Sheet circulated with the agenda.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/documents/s2305/Public%20Items%20-%20Meeting%20Procedure%20Rules.pdf 

The deadline for the submission of public questions is Tuesday 18 August 2020.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is 12.00 noon, Friday 21 August 2020.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 12.00 noon, Friday 21 August 2020.

The Board noted that 35 Public Statements and one Petition hade been received in respect of Agenda Item 7 (Emergency Active Travel Plan Programme) and that details had been circulated to the Board in a supplement to the agenda and were available on the Council’s public website.

For the Board to consider any issues raised by the Chairman which are not dealt with elsewhere on the agenda.

The Chairman welcomed the Board’s continuing approach to examining a range of forward looking issues relating to recovery in the post Covid19 period which in the current meeting focussed on review of Transport and Infrastructure.

The Chairman informed the Board that Item 8 on the agenda would be taken ahead of Item 7.

To consider the following transport and infrastructure related reports scheduled for Cabinet consideration on: 9 September 2020

-       Emergency Active Travel Fund Programme

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Andy Hadley, Portfolio Holder for Transport and Infrastructure.

The Cabinet report is attached to this agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The Board noted the significant number of public statements submitted in respect of this item. The Chairman informed the Board that he had agreed to a number of requests to read the statements at the meeting although only one speaker was now able to join the meeting. The Board accordingly heard the statement from Mr. J Challinor presented in his capacity as Chair of the Parkstone Bay Association. All the submitted statements had been made available to the Board ahead of the meeting.

The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Hadley, presented the report for scrutiny by the Board prior to its consideration by Cabinet on 9 September 2020. He described the context in which progress had been made under tranche 1 of the Emergency Active Travel Fund Programme and referred to a schedule of schemes in tranche 2. He explained that the aim of the programme was to introduce, at pace, and in response to the pandemic, temporary and experimental active travel measures which also had the potential to become permanent subject to successful trials.

The Board recognised the beneficial work already undertaken as the BCP Council responded to changing travel patterns and the Board recorded its appreciation of the work already undertaken by Council Officers within the Growth and Infrastructure teams particularly in respect of the success that had been achieved in taking full advantage, within very short timescales, of funding available from Central Government.

Comments from the Overview and Scrutiny Board focussed upon the nature of the Central Government Programme and the view of the Board was that communications about the programme, and particularly about the initial temporary nature of specific schemes, could have been improved.

Members were of the view that local ward councillors should have been consulted earlier on in the process of identifying specific local elements of the programme. This would have created the capacity for ward members to consult openly with local residents; to take a balanced approach within the community and to gather information from residents and from interested groups.

Board members highlighted examples where there had been lack of consultation with local services, such as schools and with local organisations that would have been affected, which had led to insufficient assessment of individual schemes in terms of their impact on particular localities. Failure to communicate in a manner that was accessible to local people was also considered to have contributed to the receipt of considerable negative feedback.

Members were also concerned that information they had received had been provided to them on a privileged basis which they were unable to release publicly. This was considered to be despite the fact that there was time available within the overall programme timetable for a much wider and comprehensive consultation. Members therefore described how they looked forward to increased levels of information going forward supported by improved communications with the public and more open dialogue with ward members. It was considered that this could facilitate achievement of higher quality schemes within the spirit of the overall programme.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

To consider observations on the impact of Covid-19 and prospects for future reset and recovery from representatives of the following organisations:

•       BH Active

•       Local BCP Bus Companies

•       South Western Railway

•       Access Dorset

The following Cabinet Portfolio Holder is also invited to attend the Board meeting for consideration of this item:

•       Portfolio Holder for Transport and Infrastructure

The purpose of this scrutiny is to listen to a wide range of stakeholders to gain a greater understanding of the wider effects of Covid-19 and to take into account the views of the external stakeholder in future scrutiny of the impact of Covid-19, in line with the Board’s role as enabler of the voice and concerns of the public. 

Regional Development Manager of South Western Trains, Andrew Ardley, described the measures and processes being adopted across the rail network in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. He set out the enhanced regime of train and station cleaning being undertaken and outlined measures being taken to educate customers and to promote good practice.

It was explained that the rail service was currently operating under the terms of an Emergency Measures Agreement prescribed by Central Government although the Agreement was expected to be reviewed in September 2020.

In practice this was all reported to be happening within the context of significant changes in travel patterns with considerable reduction in passenger numbers.

Initiatives being pursued going forward included exploration of new opportunities for flexible ticketing and improved facilities for customers in trains and at stations. Examples included improvements in toilets and other facilities on stations and better provision for cycles and storage and carriage of luggage.

There was a recognition of the benefits of working in partnership with BCP Council to identify and assess likely changes in future travel patterns and to develop an appropriate response. This could potentially encompass provision of facilities available in stations and a better understanding of the way in which passengers travel to the station for onward rail travel. There was agreement that the Council was very well placed to have a role in gathering customer and user information from the local public.

The following responses were provided in response to questions raised by members of the Overview and Scrutiny Board:

Assurances were provided that a wide range of flexible ticketing options were being examined and prepared for submission through to Central Government regulators.

The concerns of local people around visitors travelling on trains and arriving in the area without wearing face coverings had already been highlighted and the Board was assured that everything possible within the powers of the rail operators was being done to enforce compliance with regulations including the involvement of the Police and the Transport Police who were the only bodies authorised to take punitive enforcement action.

In relation to Pokesdown station, complex options for station development and improvement continued to be developed and discussions were ongoing.

The Chair of BH Active Travel, Jason Falconer, described his organisation’s ongoing dialogue with BCP Council at Councillor and at Officer level and there was enthusiasm expressed for working with the Council on the provision of clear communication for the public on available alternative travel options. A number of positive initiatives were in place across the BCP Council area including, for example, the ‘Beryl Bikes’ scheme and reducing vehicle use in areas such as town centres and in beach areas was expressed as a continuing priority.

The Board once again recognised the beneficial work already undertaken as the BCP Council responded to changing travel patterns and the Board recorded its appreciation of the work already undertaken by Council Officers within the Growth and Infrastructure teams particularly in respect of the success that had been achieved in taking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.