Agenda item

The Director of Planning Development and transportation Submits a report on the Local Transport Plan and Workplace Parking Levy.

Members of the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Commission have been invited to participate in the discussions on this item.

Members of the Commission are recommended to note the report and pass any comments to Director of Planning, Development and Transportation.

The Director for Planning, Development and Transportation delivered a presentation on the Local Transport Plan and Workplace Parking Levy which was subject to public consultation.

It was noted that extensive meetings had been undertaken with groups across the city and the public consultation was live on the Council’s consultation page. The meeting gave an opportunity to highlight the priorities and reasons for the new Local Transport Plan which was a statutory requirement and the thoughts behind the Workplace Parking Levy.

With the emissions target set in law requiring 100% zero emission vehicles by 2036, the government were committed to sustainable transport with ambitious targets.

It was also noted that money generated from the Workplace Parking Levy would be allocated for future transport schemes. The consultation results would be published in November 2021 and in the spring of 2022 the final version of the plan was expected to be available.

As part of the discussions it was noted that:

·         This was a project with many challenges in a challenging environment, but strong economies had good investment in transport

·         Site by site visits would be made to all businesses affected by the Workplace Parking Levy to establish the number of eligible spaces and small businesses with less than 10 parking spaces were not charged in Nottingham.

·         Work was underway looking at options for reduced fares for bus users across the different bus operators

·         The focus was on public transport being the best means of transport for longer journeys and encouraging homeworking and alternative means for transportation such as the electric bikes

·         The impacts of the workplace parking levy on larger retail businesses such as supermarkets would not include shopper parking. It was up to the businesses if the charge was passed onto the employee.

·         It was suggested that orbital bus routes to connect the different neighbourhoods across the city and an expansion of the bus timetables to suit the workforce at various locations in the city were options for the future that could potentially be funded through the workplace parking levy

It was also noted that:

·         All cities should be concentrating developments in and around city centres as it allows for people to access services

·         In Leicester the scale of growth means options outside of the city boundary had to be considered and we should work to ensure all neighbourhoods are connected. New developments had transport impacts considered as part of the developments along with new routes for walking and cycling

·         The introduction of the Workplace Parking Levy was one of the options that was under consideration to encourage people on to sustainable transport. This has proven to be effective in Nottingham and many cities nationally were considering this option

·         With car ownership changes and the increased use of electric vehicles, incentives for electric vehicle owners were under consideration to aim to achieve the 2030 goal

Members in attendance from the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Commission shared their concerns with the street designs for cycling and pedestrian ways. It was noted that the street design guide set out the priority for segregated cycle and walking routes separated from the road where possible and Officers were commended for the bold vision for the future road infrastructure.

It was noted that although bus service user numbers were low following the restrictions due to the pandemic, these numbers were now on the increase and the trajectory was encouraging with more people back on public transport.

Following Member queries on the Santander cycle network, it was suggested that the initial focus was more central and future plans would consider options further out of the city centre and Members were recommended to provide suggestions for consideration.

Members of the Commission further noted that for these proposals to be successful it would require a change in attitude from the general public on bus usage. It was noted that work was underway with bus operators on something similar to the system used in the Transport for London scheme with a simple way of using one pass across all bus operators at a capped rate.

The Chair of the commission raised a query on what was being done to mitigate exclusions from public engagement in the consultation process and it was noted that all documents online were in an accessible format and support was also provided in accessing the documents. Public meetings with disabled access groups had also allowed for further engagement with the public and encourage inclusivity.

It was further noted that the two bus stations and transport hubs would be connected via walking and cycling and an electric bus that orbits the city centre, De Montfort University and the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Public Health had been in consultation and provided support in preparation for the transport plan and advantage had been taken of any funding that was made available.