Decision details

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed to:

1  Approve proceeding to the Traffic Regulation Order stage of consultation for the amended Upper Bristol Road scheme (as outlined within the report);

2  Approve proceeding to the Traffic Regulation Order stage of consultation for the Beckford Road cycle lane scheme;

3  Agree that, should the Upper Bristol Road and Beckford Road schemes go ahead following the Traffic Regulation Order stage, a review of both schemes should be undertaken once they have been in place for 12 months;

4  Agree that officers explore external funding streams to cover the £140,438 difference between the Active Travel Fund allocation and the cost of the Upper Bristol Road and Beckford Road proposals. If such funding cannot be secured, delegated approval will be sought to use the £150,000 funding already allocated in the 2021/22 Transport Improvement Fund for the development of walking and cycling schemes;

5  Agree that officers should commission a citizens’ jury or other suitable process of deep public engagement, to determine the most appropriate safe, strategic cycle route to improve between the city centre, the University of Bath and the large employment and education sites in the Claverton Down area, which will take place before the end of this financial year;

6  Approve proceeding to the Traffic Regulation Order stage of the Combe Down to University of Bath scheme as part of the wider business case development work being undertaken to improve walking and cycling routes between Combe Down, the city centre and the University of Bath.

7.  Delegate to the Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel, along with the Director of Place Management to make final decisions on details for resolutions 1 to 6, and to report back to Cabinet should there be any significant departure from the recommendations.

The council consulted on three proposed active travel schemes in February and March this year. A decision needs to be made on whether those schemes should proceed to the next stage of consultation.

Two of the three schemes would be funded from the government’s Active Travel Fund. The government, in recent funding announcements, withheld funds from authorities that did not submit bids or those that were considered weak. There are potential implications on future government funding for active travel schemes if they do not go ahead or if they are not built in accordance with the latest design standards.

This report outlines the results from the consultation, provides options and potential amendments to the proposals to take account of feedback from the consultation, and recommends next steps.

The council could decide to proceed with all the schemes to the TRO stage of consultation without making any amendments. However, the council is required to take into account the consultation responses received when reaching its decision; not making the amendments would be in conflict with those consultation responses.

Alternatively, the council could decide to go ahead with only some or none of the schemes put forward. Doing so could jeopardise the funding allocated to B&NES as well as future funding grants to the council. It would also mean these important improvements, which form part of the council’s wider plans for walking and cycling routes, would need a different and as yet, unidentified, source of funding in the future.