Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence; and to receive notification of substitutions.

The Chair welcomed Cllr Jamil from Peterborough City Council as the newest member of the Committee.

Members were reminded that any political comments should be avoided during the meeting due to the restrictions of the pre-election period.

Apologies were received from Cllr Chris Seaton, who was substituted by Cllr Nawaz, and also from Andy Williams, Business Board Representative.

At this point Members must declare whether they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, or other interest, in any of the items on the agenda, unless it is already entered in the register of members’ interests.

No interests were declared.

To elect a Vice-Chair of the Committee.

RESOLVED:

On being proposed by the Chair and seconded by Cllr Shailer, Cllr Sam Wakeford was unanimously elected as Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On being proposed by the Chair and seconded by Cllr Shailer, Cllr Sam Wakeford was unanimously elected as Vice-Chair of the Committee.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2024 and to note the Action Log.

RESOLVED:

The minutes of the meeting on 13 March 2024 were approved as an accurate record.

The Action Log was noted by the Committee.

The minutes of the meeting of 13 March 2024 were approved as an accurate record.

An error in the spelling of Rebecca Stephens surname would be corrected.

The Action Log was noted.

Arrangements for asking a public question can be viewed here: Public Questions - Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority

No public questions were received.

To note the Combined Authority’s Forward Plan for June.

It was resolved to:

A    Note the Combined Authority Forward Plan for June 2024.

To receive an update from the Executive Director on the key activities of the Place and Connectivity Directorate in relation to Transport and Infrastructure.

The Executive Director, Place and Connectivity introduced the report which provided the Committee with a general update on the key activities of the Place and Connectivity Directorate in relation to Transport and Infrastructure, which were not covered in other reports to this meeting. It also provided information on some key developments, risks and opportunities that had emerged. A broader suite of reports would be provided to the July Committee to include bus reform and the 12 June submission of the provisional Bus Services Improvement Plan.

During discussion, the following points were noted:

a)   The Mayor was pleased that progress had been made on the Vision Zero -Road Safety mayoral pledge and was optimistic about what could be achieved with the strategy.

b)   Officers were working closely with Peterborough City colleagues on preparations for a Peterborough Transport Strategy and work on the Bus Depot and the Peterborough Station Quarter was a key part of this.

c)   Officers would assess the potential pilots to take forward under the Quiet Lanes Pilot project that had Sustrans funding and would update the Committee on this at the next meeting.

d)   Members were receiving correspondence from residents wanting to know about the developments with East West Rail and it was therefore important that there were sufficient public meetings on the matter to allow residents to have their say.

RESOLVED

A    That the Transport and Infrastructure Committee note the report.

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Due to a power cut, the live stream of the meeting ended. The meeting remained open to members of the public to attend in person and the decision was taken to continue with the meeting. Cllr Haq Nawaz joined the meeting at this point.

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To note the progress on Electric Vehicles and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure.

RESOLVED:

A    To note of the progress on Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure including the outcomes of the Electric Vehicles and Charging Point Survey.

B    To note that an initial draft strategic Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) business case will be submitted to Energy Saving Trust on 19 July 2024.

The Acting Transport Strategy and Policy Manager introduced the report which provided an update on the work on Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Electric Vehicles and Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund.

During discussion, the following points were noted:

a)   Members commented on the need to ensure the fullest engagement from all ages and sectors in any consultation exercises that were undertaken. The number of responses to the Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure survey was considered a positive but officers were mindful of the number of upcoming consultation exercises and would look at a number of different strategies to reach different audiences and provide the maximum number of opportunities for people to engage. Members’ feedback would be fed into future work with Comms to make consultations as robust as they could be.

b)   In response to Members expressing concerns about the infrastructure challenges around access to power and how the different strands were being drawn together, the Executive Director highlighted the ability of the CPCA to act as a convener to join up all the activity that was happening. Two pieces of activity in particular were referenced; the Infrastructure Delivery Framework, and the Alternative Fuels Workshop that had been held in May. The work on an Infrastructure Deelivery Framework covered four key areas; power, connectivity, water, and blue/green issues and therefore would dovetail with elements of the Committee’s discussion on electric vehicles. Following the May workshop, the CPCA was highlighting opportunities for emergency services and refuse collection vehicles to switch to using alternative fuels such as Hydrogenerated Vegetable Oil (HVO) or have fully electric refuse vehicles using solar power generated at the Waterbeach depot. These different options would be considered in CPCA’s freight strategy.

RESOLVED:

A    To note of the progress on Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure including the outcomes of the Electric Vehicles and Charging Point Survey.

B    To note that an initial draft strategic Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) business case will be submitted to Energy Saving Trust on 19 July 2024.

To note the progress of the March Area Transport Study (MATS).

On being put to the vote, proposed by the Chair and seconded by Cllr MacDonald, the motion was not supported.

An update on the MATS proposal would therefore be re-presented at a future meeting.

The Acting Transport Strategy and Policy Manager introduced the report which provided an update on the work on March Area Transport Study (MATS) and sought approval for the drawdown of £7,000,000 from the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) to continue the project.

During discussion, the following points were noted:

a)   The initial MATS project was outlined in Fenland’s District Council’s (FDC) Local Plan published in 2014, and in 2018 was first approved by the CA Board for inclusion in the region’s Transport programme.

b)   The progress made with the full business case (FBC) was the result of long term and extensive collaboration with FDC members and officers, with a desire to deliver the ambition.

c)   Cllr Dr Nawaz, the substitute member for Fenland, commented on the wider rurality of the March and Whittlesey areas and the problems of connectivity, and whilst not opposing the improvements, felt that the project did not go far enough, and its scope could be widened.

d)   Despite wishing to see similarly large projects in their own areas, several members of the Committee stressed their support for the scheme as representatives for the whole CPCA region citing the integrated nature and importance of the project in March.

e)   The MATS Member group, with FDC and Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) representation, are fully supportive of the FBC and the drawdown of the £7m from the MTFP and that was why the paper had been put forward.

f)    The Mayor expressed his concern that the Fenland representative was unsupportive of the project in light of the extensive consultation that had happened and the collaboration that had been evidenced.

g)   In bringing the discussion to a close, the Chair laid out three possible options for the Committee; that the vote be postponed to a later meeting, that it be specifically minuted that the project sat within the wider Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) and the Committee were strongly supportive of the need for this connectivity thus recognising Cllr Dr Nawaz’s comments, or that an additional recommendation be made.

h)   Members felt that the link with the LTCP was implicit and therefore there was no need to stress this point or to make an additional recommendation. No objection was raised to these points.

On being proposed by the Chair and seconded by Cllr McDonald the following recommendations, as set out in the report, were put to a recorded vote:

B.  That the Combined Authority Board be recommended to approve the MATS Full Business Case 2 (FBC 2)

C.  That the Combined Authority Board be recommended to approve the drawdown of £7,000,000 of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) from subject to approval to approved for the MATS project to be spent in Financial Years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026.

And

D.  That the Combined Authority be recommended to delegate authority to the Assistant Director of Transport in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer and Monitoring Officer to enter into Grant Funding Agreements with Cambridgeshire County Council.

The voting was recorded as follows:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To note the outturn financial position of the Transport and Infrastructure Division for the financial year 2023/24 and Board approved carry forwards.

RESOLVED:

A    To note the outturn financial position of the Transport and Infrastructure Division for the financial year 23/24 and Board approved carry forwards.

B    Note the Transport and Infrastructure Division budget for the next 4 years updated for approved carry forwards

Tim Greenwood, Finance Manager, introduced the report which provided the outturn position for 2023/24 against budgets and the Board approved carry forwards.

RESOLVED:

A    To note the outturn financial position of the Transport and Infrastructure Division for the financial year 23/24 and Board approved carry forwards.

B    Note the Transport and Infrastructure Division budget for the next 4 years updated for approved carry forwards

To note the Committee Agenda Plan.

RESOLVED:

A    That the Transport and InfrastructureCommittee Agenda Plan be noted.

22 July 2024.

The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 22 July 2024.