Decision details

Agreement of Best and Final Bid to DfT on Bath Transport Package

(1) To AGREE and RECOMMEND to Council that the following elements of the BTP should not be included in the Best & Final Bid to DfT:

·  The Bus Rapid Transit Segregated Route.

·  The A36 Lower Bristol Road Bus Lane.

·  The A4 London Road Lambridge Bus Lane.

·  New A4 Eastern P&R (1400 spaces), plus bus lane priority on the A4/A46 slip road.

·  And in addition reduce the size of the P&R expansion at Newbridge.

(2) To AGREE that as a result the BTP would comprise of the following elements:

·  Upgrades to bus stop infrastructure on 9 service routes, including real time passenger information.

·  Expansion of Odd Down P&R by 250 spaces, of Lansdown P&R by 390 spaces and of Newbridge P&R by 250 spaces on the proposed site or a suitable alternative.

·  Variable Message signs on the main approaches to Bath, and within the city centre.

·  City centre works: High Street improvements and timed access restrictions (currently ongoing).

·  Works to support BWR including a bus rapid transit system serving the site.

(3) To AGREE as a result of the above to formally withdraw the CPOs agreed at its meeting on 3rd September 2008 and subsequently served to allow for the implementation of the BTP.

(4) To AGREE and RECOMMEND to Full Council that the Council contribution towards the BTP would be no more £17.8m as set out in section 3 below. The schemes costs as recommended in this report have been reduced from £58.8m to £34.3m.

(5) To AGREE and RECOMMEND to Full Council that the final submission to DfT be approved by the Strategic Director Service Delivery and Chief Executive in consultation with the portfolio holder, the S151 officer and monitoring officer, and with a report back to cabinet only if necessary notably if there is a material change in the financial costs or scope of the scheme which go beyond the parameters set out in this report.

(6) To RECOMMEND to Full Council additional borrowing of £3M to fully finance the costs of the Council contribution of up to £17.8M with an additional annual revenue cost of approximately £190K which will need to be included in revenue budgets for future years following completion of the scheme.

(7) To NOTE the revenue reversion risk as set out in the report and the potential need to fund the costs of project work on aspects of the scheme which are no longer going ahead from reserves with the appropriate financing to be dealt with in a later report to Cabinet and Council as appropriate and if the need arises.

(8) To AGREE and RECOMMEND to Full Council to instruct officers to:

·  work on alternatives to Bathampton Meadows P&R, possibly involving rail, as part of our future Transport Strategy

·  work with the Highways Agency to improve signage on the A46 to direct more traffic to an extended Lansdown Park and Ride

·  talk to Wiltshire Council about measures to remove some of the through traffic along the London Road and other cross border transport issues

·  evaluate measures to remove HGVs from London Road - this 10% of traffic creates 40% of the pollution

·  examine how we can obtain substantial "modal shift" from the private car to rail in recognition of potential for rail expansion with the electrification of the GWR and the awarding of an extended rail franchise

·  evaluate options to address the problems caused by a lack of affordable home to school transport

·  consider measures to make the whole area much more cycle friendly - we have already secured Govt funding through the Regional Sustainable Transport Fund to link Batheaston to NCR 4 on the canal towpath, thereby taking many cyclists off the London Road and encouraging others to get out of their cars and cycle into Bath.

The transport problems faced by the City of Bath are well known.  The Council has for many years implemented a policy of reducing traffic entering the city by providing Park & Ride facilities while reducing the availability of parking in the city itself.  The BTP, albeit in its reduced form, will continue this successful policy by expanding P&R facilities which are often at capacity.  In addition the development of Showcase Bus routes as part of the package will continue to develop a high quality public transport network within the city.

The major option currently available to the Council is to retain the A4 Park & Ride and associated bus lane within the Bath Transport Package.  The inclusion of this element would bring additional P&R capacity back up to over 2,200 for the city as a whole allowing projected demand to be met.  These elements can be delivered without compulsory purchase or other statutory procedures. This would significantly reduce the amount of traffic entering the city from the east along an existing heavily congested corridor.  It would also allow more city centre car parks to be redeveloped as part of the Council’s core strategy.